SB 365 
.V3 



FIG CULTURE 



BEING A STATEMENT OF THE HISTORY 
VARIETIES AND BOTANY OF THE FIG, 
IN ASIA, AFRICA AND AMERICA, AND A 
SPECIAL TREATISE ON ITS PROPAGA- 
TION, CULTIVATION AND CURING IN 
NORTH AMERICA 



J. V. DEALY COMPANY 



A. C. VAN VELZER 




HOUSTON, TEXAS 



PUBLISHED BY 



19 9 



Copyrighted 1909 
By A. C. Van Yelzer 



Ail 01. 

<g CI. A Z 5 J' 2-9 3 



PKESS OF 

J V Dhaly Company 

HOUSTON, TEXAS 



TO MY BELOVED WIFE : 



WHOSE LITERARY TASTE AND 
ABIDING INTEREST EST THESE 
AFFAIRS HAS BEEN MY 
GREATEST ADO, THIS LITTLE 
VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY 
DEDICATED. 

THE AUTHOR. 



PREFACE 



This volume is not intended to be a treatise upon 
the philosophy of tree growth, but rather an every- 
day guide for the beginner in fig culture, and a field 
manual for the experienced grower. Abstract dis- 
cussions of soils, plant food, available fertility and 
the creation of wood and fruit are, therefore, avoid- 
ed so far as possible, notwithstanding such subjects 
form the basis of accurate knowledge about every 
operation of farming. 

For collateral reading see bulletins 5 and 6, bu- 
reau of plant industry, bulletin 1, division of po- 
mology, bulletin 20, division of entomology, farm- 
ers' bulletin 342, yearbook for 1900 of the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture ; bulletin 61 of the Georgia sta- 
tion, bulletin 112 of the Alabama station, bulletin 
184 of the North Carolina station, bulletin 90 of the 
Louisiana station, and bulletin 62 of the Texas sta- 
tion; a monograph by Roeding, of Fresno, Califor- 
nia; Horticultural Transactions IV, 20; San Fran- 
cisco Rural Press, issues of February 20, 1892, May 
18, 1895, and November 2, 1901; "Guide to Fig 
Culture," Benson; "The Caprification or the Set- 
ting of the Fruit," Lelong, 1891 ; Placer County Re- 
publican, Auburn, California, issue of December 29, 
1886; "Fig Industry in Florida," Reed; "Caprifi- 
cation," Riley, 1895; "Description of Fig Insects," 



s 



PREFACE 



Saunders, 1883; "The Diocism of the Fig in its 
Bearing on Caprification," Swingle, 1899; U. S- 
Consular Eeports. 1882, No. 15; 1888, No. 88 ; 1881. 
Nos. 411/2 and 44; "Culture of Fig Trees in the 
Open Air,- 5 Wiekham. 1818; Transactions of the 
Entomological Society. London. 1817, Vol. IV, page 
260, and 1882 and 1883 ; U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture. Special Report No. 4, "Cultivation of the 
Fig. ' ' These deal with the special subject of 
"figs." The following publications give many in- 
teresting scattered facts, though devoted mainly to 
other inquiries: "Journal of a Political Mission to 
Afghanistan," Bellew, 1862; "Our Common 
Fruits," Bernard, 1866; "Forest Flora of North- 
west and Central India," Brandis, 1874; "A View 
of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees," Coxe, 1817: 
"Notes and Observations on Ionian Islands and 
Malta," Davy, 1842; "Mission to Yarkland," For- 
syth, 1875; Gardeners' Chronicle. London; "His- 
tory of the Discovery and Conquest of the Canary 
Islands," Glas, 1864; "A History of Plants," Hill. 
1751; "The Country of Beloochistan," Hughes, 
1877 ; Journal of Royal Horticultural Society, Vol- 
ume III. 1846 ; Report for 1889 of Board of Horti- 
culture, State of California; Botanical Dictionary, 
Milne, 1770; Encyclopedia of Horticulture, Bailey; 
"Select Extra Tropical Plants," Mueller, 1888; 
"Journey Through Arabia," Palgrave, 1865 ^'Com- 
panion for the Orchard," Phillips, 1831; "Travels 
in Barbara and Levant,"' Shaw, 1757; "Tropical 



PREFACE 



9 



Agriculture/' Simmons, 1889; "Hand Book of 
"Fruit Culture under Glass/' Thomson; "Travels 
to the City of the Caliphs/' Wellsted, 1840, Vol- 
ume II; "California Fruits and How to Grow 
Them/' Wickson, 1889. The foregoing are printed 
in the English language; publications in foreign 
languages are somewhat more numerous, and in- 
clude such ancient classics as Plinius, Lib. XV, Cap. 
19; Aristotle, "Historia Animalium," Lib. 5, Cap. 
XVI, 3; Cato, Scri. Rei Rustici, Vol. 1, page 19, 
Cap. 8, 1; Theophrastus, C. pi. iii, 6, v. 2; and 
Varro, Script. Rei Rustici, Vol. 1, page 268, Lib. ii, 
Cap. XI, 5. 



INTRODUCTION 



The following pages are little more than a chron- 
icle of field investigations and personal experiences 
of the writer, to which are added a few observa- 
tions upon the work of other fig growers and a 
short historical statement. The effort to obtain defi- 
nite knowledge of this special subject led to the dis- 
covery some years ago that an entire lack of har- 
mony of methods existed among growers, the pro- 
cesses of preservers were without uniformity, while 
informed persons usually withheld information 
which they considered business secrets. Investiga- 
tions were also hindered by a conspicuous lack of 
recent literature upon the subject, while growers, 
themselves, had not written of their work, and the 
few bulletins in print at experiment stations were 
topical essays and reports rather than detailed dis- 
cussions. Gustave Eisen's careful statement of the 
history, botany, tillage, classification, diseases and 
curing of figs, published in 1901 as a circular of the 
Department of Agriculture, is valuable as a con- 
densed scientific treatise. 

The facts sought by growers are sometimes con- 
cealed as a result of the unjust methods of many 
current writers, for exaggerated reports of crops, 
markets and profits not only prepare the public to 
believe glowing misrepresentations, but such is 



INTRODUCTION 



11 



the effect of prevalent opinions upon the minds of 
average men, that growers are more or less unfitted 
for making impartial statements about the history 
of each orchard. The field is not yet cleared of the 
litter of exaggeration, not to mention the baseless 
descriptions of promoters. The industry will not 
recover from these injuries until there is a spread 
of general knowledge and public opinion is created 
that will forestall imposition. There are many in- 
tellectually honest farmers in every community 
from whom the truth can be learned about their 
work and profits, and when this class shall have 
learned definitely the merits as well as the ob- 
stacles to be overcome by mastering the details of 
fig raising on a commercial scale, the day of im- 
postors will have passed. When the culture is 
placed fairly upon merit alone it will stand far 
more securely with the people than it now does, suc- 
cess then depending upon the application of simple 
processes of intelligent horticulture. 

The writer has undertaken to study a number of 
fig orchards at first hand, and by keeping a record 
of each for a number of years, to ascertain the re- 
sults of cultivation, mulching, fertilization, irriga- 
tion, drainage and pruning, to observe the effects 
of windbreaks and drouths and conditions which 
produced or modified freezes and frosts. These per- 
sonal remarks are merely reminiscent, and simply 
suggest the necessary course to others who may wish 
knowledge of the subject from actual work in the 



INTRODUCTION 



field. It has extended over several years, and from 
a remarkably large number of apparently conflict- 
ing conclusions during the early part of that period 
definite general opinions have gradually dawned, 
and as these have become fixed by subsequent data 
the work has simplified and methods made clear. 
Many experiments remain incomplete, for the great 
cost of tillage should be materially reduced without 
impairing its effectiveness, and there is much un- 
certainty concerning several elementary field opera- 
tions, as well as the treatment trees should receive 
under special conditions. In all cases the aim has 
been to depart as little as possible from practices 
which accord with established rules of botany and 
pomology, and to use constant caution when pro- 
ceeding contrary to the elemental teachings of 
plant feeding and growth. 

While theories of scientific horticulture sometimes 
come forcibly into discomfiting collision with stub- 
born facts in a way that makes academic pomology 
appear ridiculous, such conflicts are more apparent 
than real, and can always be reconciled by further 
search for causes. Those who point to errors of 
this kind should remember that science is merely 
"classified knowledge/' that if facts about soil, 
trees, fruit and climate are really understood, their 
classification in logical order, or scientific arrange- 
ment, will merely give them clearness, force and 
educational value. Science has never added a single 



INTRODUCTION 



13 



truth to those of Nature, but teaches orderly mental 
processes, which greatly aid in searches for light. 

A recent apparent conflict of academic knowledge 
with field practice will illustrate : Soils from worn 
out potato fields examined in the laboratory were 
found to contain abundant food of all forms neces- 
sary to grow potatoes. There was sufficient matter 
therein, both organic and inorganic, to supply usual 
quantities for normal growth, but notwithstanding 
good tilth was maintained, the fields failed to pro- 
duce crops. This was an opportunity to decry that 
science was wrong in determining that such plant 
food existed in the soil at all ; but when the chemists 
looked further it was found the excreta from potato 
vines was toxic, and finally accumulated in the soil 
sufficiently to poison the roots ; that the ground re- 
quired renovation by the growth of other vegeta- 
tion, or recuperation by summer fallowing. 

Whether applied to tillage of fig trees or to other 
horticultural lines, a knowledge of plant nutrition, 
soil chemistry, wood and fruit formation, and dis- 
eases of trees, called scientific agriculture, forms 
only a basis of information for field work. Even 
the broadest knowledge of statistics about farm 
practices will often mislead, unless applied with 
discriminating care, following faithfully our pri- 
mary rules of botany, physics and chemistry. There 
was an occasion, recently, to investigate the use of 
field peas for soil renovation, and from considerable 



14 



INTRODUCTION 



information gathered, the following quotations il- 
lustrate how unsafe it is to rely solely upon reports 
of academic writers, and show how easily one may 
be misled by advice upon particular problems, even 
when it comes from men of unquestioned capacity, 
whose lives have been devoted as educators in seek- 
ing truths about agricultural work. 
Speaking of field peas : 

"Nebraska is too far south for the best results 
with this crop." Neb. Bull. 84. 

' 6 This crop is one of the most serviceable in a for- 
age crop rotation, supplying food when other crops 
are not available.' ' N. J. Bull. 158. 

"It does not grow well except on good soil." 
Penn. Bull. 102. 

"Canada peas are perhaps used more than any 
other legume in the citrus orchards in California. 
The effect is very satisfactory, so far as improving 
the tilth of the soil." U. S. Bull. 278. 

"Experiments have been made in the Southern 
States to determine its value as a winter and spring 
crop. The results so far have shown that it with- 
stands the cold of the Southern winters successfully, 
and makes a good growth." U. S. Bull. 147. 

"Canada field peas are of no value to us. We 
have never found them to be of any good." Direct- 
or S. C. Station, Jan. 22, 1909. 

" Canada peas have never proven a great success 
in the South." Pres. Ga. Univ., January 22, 1909. 



INTRODUCTION 



15 



"An average of all varieties grown during the 
years 1904 and 1906 show a yield of grain of 39.5 
bushels and of straw 2.34 tons per acre." Mont. 
Bull. 68. 

These references, selected from among quite a 
number, all showing a great dissimilarity of opin- 
ions, illustrate the danger of following any one writ- 
er, without applying all theories by comparative 
tests to each particular farm and field to be tilled. 
Canada peas is commented upon, for something will 
be said later about its value as an orchard winter le- 
gume, and how satisfactorily its manurial returns 
increase nitrogen and humus in the soil, as well as 
benefit physical texture. The future course of 
an, inquirer often depends more upon the prefer- 
ences of the individual consulted than the relative 
merits of different crops, and in this case a bene- 
ficial legume would be discarded, or adopted, as 
local observations of a writer would suggest, while a 
green manure that might have just fulfilled his re- 
quirements would, perhaps, have been neglected. 
On the other hand, if the farmer knows what field 
peas need as to soils and temperature, their effect 
upon texture in general, and the nature of their 
deposit of nitrogen in root nodules, then by learning 
the kind of plant food that should be added to his 
own soil to keep the orchard in health and vigor, 
the opinions of others will afford valuable collateral 
information which he can readily apply to individ- 
ual operations. 



16 



INTRODUCTION 



No pomologist is safe in giving didactic instruc- 
tions about the tillage of fields with which he is 
not personally familiar. The only value an opinion 
ever has is its reason, and in horticulture it is im- 
possible to attach much weight to long distance ad- 
vice based upon hearsay statements. The farmer is 
inevitably left to solve his own problems with such 
aid as comparative studies may give. Fortunate 
is he who possesses a practical acquaintance with 
botany, physics, chemistry, climatology and ento- 
mology, for. as these sciences are the main sources 
of an accurate knowledge of agriculture, education 
in them will greatly aid in simplifying the problems 
that occur every day upon the farm. 

We have read many beautiful passages in po- 
mological literature about the evolution of plants, 
and how each variety, as a rule, improves itself in 
time by going through cycles of progressive devel- 
opment. The books are so well stocked with attract- 
ive descriptions of evolution that it seems vulgar to 
suggest heresy to those poetic conceptions ; yet when 
considered from the view point of the weaker plants 
such poetry is but meaningless words which, by their 
artful impressions, elevate the mind above the real, 
vital life and death struggle for plain existence that 
is going on next the earth, where the strong proudly 
lift their heads for a brief space over the bodies of 
weaker ones which they have choked and smothered 
to death. Life is common, plain and natural, and 
it will assist every one to a proper mental balance. 



INTRODUCTION 



17 



and a sane poise of mind, to study next the earth 
rather than by the construction of poetical scintilla- 
tions about commonplace, everyday vulgarities. 

Not long ago a frog hunt was undertaken. By 
the flaring torch light a few fish were caught, moc- 
casins killed and great bullfrogs speared. In the 
bellies of each there were lesser and weaker animals 
which had lived at the same creek. The fish had 
caught little snakes, the snakes eaten frogs, the 
frogs devoured crawfish, and they had swallowed 
insects. Beautiful evolution ! but so severe upon the 
weaker animals! 

So with plant life. Each one thrives by killing, 
and then absorbing those around it. The weak are 
suffocated and soon enrich the soil that the strong 
may grow. Then the strong succumb to conditions 
that are inevitable, and make food for the next gen- 
eration. Thus the depth of soil is increased and 
subsequent vegetation grows larger. It is progress, 
development, evolution; but those who keep an ear 
close to the ground can almost hear its plants ever 
in common, vulgar strife, essentially like the rep- 
tiles of the swamp and beasts of the jungle, the weak 
creatures of each generation being ruthlessly de- 
voured and contributing by their death to the 
growth and power of heartier neighbors. 



CONTENTS 



Preface 7-9 

Introduction v . 10-17 

General investigations — press reports — scientific 

work — plant evolution — sources of knowledge 

— illustrations — advice from distances. 



CHAPTER I. 

The Fig 24-26 

Derivation of word — history — nature of fruit — 
three kinds — their spread — Smyrna figs. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Fig in California 27-38 

Varieties — development — Mission — Adriatic — 
Smyrnas — importatio ns — blastophaga grossor- 
um — caprification — pollenation — Calimyrna figs 
— preserving — markets. 

CHAPTER III. 

The Fig in the South 39-56 

Varieties — Celeste — Magnolia — New French — 
uses — yard trees — crops — commercial orchards 
— canneries — production — Smyrnas — fresh fruit 
— Brunswick — transportation — preserves. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



19 



CHAPTEK IV. 

The Fig in Asia 57-60 

Smyrna — Meander Valley — climate — planting 
trees — pruning — Syria — Arabia — China. 



CHAPTER V. 

The Fig in Europe 61-62 

France and Paris — Portugal and Algarve — Italy 
and Sicily — England — Greece — exports — uses. 



CHAPTER VI. 

The Fig in Africa 63 

Kabylia — Egypt. 

CHAPTER VII. 

The Flowers and Fruit 64-69 

Location of flowers — pollenation — smallest varie- 
ties — largest varieties. 

CHAPTER VIII. 



The Propagation of New Varieties 

Known varieties — variations — seed — treatment. 



70-72 



20 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Size of the Orchard .73-77 

Care required — price of trees — planting — cultiva- 
tion — capital — preserving — small orchards — in- 
tensive methods. 



CHAPTER X. 

Fig Tree Food 78-97 

Chemical elements — potash — phosphorus — propor- 
tions — decomposition — changes — consumption 
— humus— solutions — absorption — disintegra- 
tion — mineral food per acre — powdered glass — 
sterile soils — excreta — root extension — nitrogen 
sources — fertilizers — legumes — -rainfall — mois- 
ture content — tillage — leaching — limit of nat- 
ural supply — excessive tillage. 



CHAPTER XI. 



Tillage of Fig Lands 98-103 

Effect of tillage — objects — raw lands — first 
year 's growth — amendments — trampling of 
stock. 



CHAPTER XII. 

The Subsoil 104-109 

Top soils — thin soils — depth — aeration — deep 
plowing — implements. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 21 

CHAPTEE XIII. 

Tillage Tools 110-117 

Those necessary — plow — subsoilers — harrows — 
acme — spring tooth — disk — double shovel — roll- 
er — cultivator — weeder. 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Cuttings and Tree Planting 118-125 



Making cuttings — age — length — planting- — expo - 
sure — losses — burying — single bud — cultivation 
— growth — revival — dried roots — tests. 

CHAPTER XV. 

Pruning Fig Trees 126-132 

Terminal buds — reasons — side branches — experi- 
ments — thinning — objects — time for — effects. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Conservation of Soil Moisture 133-142 

Effect — recuperation — loss of — expiration — hu- 
mus — percentage in soils — kinds of — capillarity 
— sub-drainage — clay and humus — quantity ab- 
sorbed — percolation — tiles — legumes — mulch- 
ing. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XVII. 



Wind-breaks 143-153 

Benefits — objections — results — evaporation — 
frosts — varieties — experiments. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
Atmospheric Drainage 154-155 



CHAPTER XIX. 



Mulching 156-161 

Where used — effects — theory — methods- — value — 
amount — roots — dangers. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Cover Crops 162-188 

Generally — soil building — natural methods — bene- 
fits — dangers — legumes — selections — alfilaria — 
barley — broom corn — buckwheat — corn — em?ner 
— grasses — kaf fir corn — kale — millet — oats — 
rape — rye — sorghum — spelt — turnips — wheat — 
alfalfa — beggar weed — berseem — bur clover — 
Canada peas — common vetch — cow peas — crim- 
son clover — hairy vetch — horse beans — Japan 
clover — mammoth clover — peanuts — red clover 
■ — soy beans — sweet clover — tangier peas — vel- 
vet beans — white clover. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 23 

CHAPTEE XXL 

Diseases and Insect Pests 189-196 

Generally — root rot — nematodes — leaf rust — scale 
— borer — beetles. 

CHAPTEE XXII. 

Injuries to Trees and Fruit 197-207 

Frost — sunburn — falling of fruit — worms — sour- 
ing. 

CHAPTEE XXIII. 
Harvesting the Crop 208-211 

CHAPTEE XXIV. 
Curing and Preserving the Fruit 211-218 



Smyrnas — drying — marmalades — preserves — 
Magnolias — syrup — cooking — kettles — skinning 
— sterilizing — gasoline heat — glass — tins — brine 
baths — oil bath — retorts — metals — distributers 
— marketing. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE FIG. 

The Englisl fig" has both a Latin (ficus) and 
a Hebrew (feg) origin. From the beginning of tra- 
dition it was a household tree, being described in 
the earliest writings of every religion, and the 
first chapters of authentic chronicles. The fig finds 
place in the oldest European literature, the Homeric 
songs, and the ancient Greeks not only relied on 
this fruit as a staple crop, but minutely described 
the varieties then cultivated, writing volumes about 
its tillage, and an epidemic among the trees was 
considered a public calamity. They called a city 
Sikyon, after the Greek word syke, meaning fig, and 
attributed the origin of the trees to the thoughtf ul- 
ness of the goddess Ceres, who, through affection for 
the people, caused one to grow at Phykalos. Before 
acquiring its present meaning, the word "syco- 
phants" was applied to all Athenians, and meant 
' ' fig eaters. ' ■ 

The fig matures from a collection ' of flowers en- 
closed by a protecting shell, and is placed in the 
same family with the mulberry. The little flowers 
open inside the shell, which at first is tough and 
woody, and they swell with the gradual accumula- 
tion of sap and starch, in time changing to juice and 
sugar, ripening into palatable fruit. The gradual 



NATURE OF FRUIT 



development of the fig is an interesting lesson in 
plant evolution. At one time, certainly, there were 
no edible figs, and wild varieties which still grow 
in great numbers along the Eastern Mediterranean 
indicate that centuries of intelligent / at breeding 
produced trees bearing palatable fruit before the 
recorded history of Europe began. Those trees 
whose flowers mature in woody knots, or warty 
shells, instead of edible fruit, are called capri figs. 
The abstract question whether the fig is a fruit, or 
not, has been gravely discussed by medieval writers, 
but that is a matter of scientific differentiation ; as 
it has palatable pulp and juice which remind us 
in the eating more of fruits than of nuts, or of any 
other food, for household and commercial purposes 
it will continue to be accepted as such. 

It would be interesting to sketch the growth of 
the area of fig cultivation, but that would be beyond 
the object of this volume. Our best information is, 
that the edible varieties were flourishing in Asia 
Minor at least nine centuries B. C, and from that 
period on with each martial conquest the invading 
armies carried them along, and spread one variety 
after another, until the Mediterranean countries, 
Portugal, Southern England, Central Asia and 
Eastern Africa were well stocked; while the atten- 
tion they received by such historians and natural- 
ists as Varro, Pliny, Cato and Virgil attest the great 
importance the ancients attached to them as a staple 
article of food. We remember reading how Rom- 



26 



FIG CULTURE 



ulus, the founder of Rome, suckled a she-wolf under 
a certain fig tree, which tree was supposed to 
have lived until long after the rulers of that 
country emerged from their mythological character ; 
we have also read that the prophet Mohammed ex- 
claimed over his desire to take figs, of all fruit, with 
him to Paradise. 

At times the figs of Portugal and Italy have riv- 
aled those from the Meander Valley, even to the ex- 
tent of monopolizing the European markets; but 
the Smyrna fig, as grown and packed at its ancient 
home, has successfully overcome competition with 
its western rivals, until now it has driven every 
other variety from all but local fields, being well es- 
stablished as the standard dried fig of the world. 
It remains to be seen what will result from the re- 
cently developed Calimyrna, or Cali(fornia-S)myr- 
na fig, when that important fruit is raised in suffi- 
cient quantity to come into open competition with 
Asiatic expectations in the large markets of the 
world. 



CHAPTER II. 



THE FIG IN CALIFORNIA. 

A separate volume could be written about the in- 
teresting history of fig culture in California. It is 
only within the scope of this work to state briefly 
the main features of its present condition, and give 
a few illustrations of the difficulties that have been 
solved by those tireless, capable pomologists who 
have devoted so many years to the selection of varie- 
ties and the perfection of their work. No more 
graphic nor picturesque recital exists in the history 
of horticulture than is found in the statement of 
bare facts about the evolution of fig raising on the 
Pacific Coast. An enthusiastic naturalist will jour- 
ney for days, and hunt the wild forests many miles 
in search of a new specimen to place in his collec- 
tion; and when found he will toil over mountains, 
swim rivers, face storms, and consider himself for- 
tunate if he arrives safely home at last with his 
discovery uninjured. But those few men of Califor- 
nia who have been pioneers in fig growing have trav- 
eled continents, crossed and re-crossed oceans, es- 
tablished residences in the Orient, and expended 
fortunes in an effort to develop the finest fig in the 
world acclimated and accustomed to its new western 
home. 

California figs are easily divided into the domes- 



FIG CULTURE 




The Mission Fig Tree of California. This variety was introduced 
by Spanish missionaries, and is extensively cultivated 
on the Pacific Coast as far south as Chile. 



CALIFORNIA VARIETIES 



29 



tic and the commercial varieties. Of the former 
the Mission, imported from Spain, through Mexico, 
is best known. The fruit is large and black; the 
trees often grow twenty feet high, with about the 
same spread. The fruit is juicy and fairly sweet, 
and. having been introduced with the Spanish Mis- 
sions, is found from Napa. California, all the way 
down through Central America to Southern Chili. 
Other dooryard varieties are the Brown Turkey, 
Ischia, Lugonia, Cernica. Brunswick and Genoa. 
The Adriatic, first grown in Calaveras County, has. 
until recently, been the commercial fig of the coast. 
It is of medium size, fairly sweet, pyriform, thin, 
light green skin, yellowish red pulp, and open eyed. 
It requires a dry climate for profitable raising, as 
humidity causes souring quickly, and. away from 
the foot hills, has never been a success. When 
dried it is smaller, darker and much less sweet than 
the third grade of imported Smyrnas, and has nev- 
er brought more than about five cents a pound re- 
tail, this price being equivalent to less than one 
cent a pound to the grower while the fruit is fresh. 
These facts explain why its place in the market is 
being rapidly taken by the acclimated, high bred 
Smyrna, called Calimyrna. in honor of its new 
home. 

In 1880 G. B. Kixford made the first importation 
of Smyrna cuttings to San Francisco, and two years 
later he received a second consignment of fourteen 
thousand. During the latter year F. Roeding main- j 



30 



FIG CULTURE 



tained an assistant in the Meander Valley for the 
further study of the habits of the tree, and from 
him received cuttings of several varieties. In 
1885 Mr. Eixford imported a large quantity of cut- 
tings, which were distributed among the rural sub- 
scribers to the San Francisco Bulletin, Governor 
Leland Stanford financing these importations. John 
Rock obtained more cuttings in 1891 which he plant- 
ed at Niles. From these numerous large Smyrna 
fig trees grew in widely scattered localities, but the 
fruit invariably fell off before maturing. Although 
the trees were tried in various soils, altitudes and 
temperatures, no ripe fruit was obtainable. By 
the combined efforts of missionaries in the Meander 
Valley and the pomologists sent there by the United 
States Department of Agriculture, together with 
experiments conducted by Californians at home 
and in Smyrna, it was discovered that these varie- 
ties required trees in each orchard which contained 
flowers of both sexes, as well as gall flowers, and also 
needed a waspish Asiatic pollenating insect, called 
blastophaga grossorum, to fertilize each green fig, in 
order to grow; otherwise the fruit dropped. Even 
after these discoveries Californians spent fifteen 
years in learning to import the insects without their 
deterioration while traveling, in providing a home 
within which they would lay eggs that would hatch, 
and in acclimating them. 

The intricate problem of caprification concerns 
Smyrna figs alone. There are more than thirty va- 



POLLEN ATING INSECTS 31 



Adult Mal< 




Adult Female — blastophaga grossorum (Enlarged). 




This insect gets pollen over its body while struggling to get out 
of male fig flowers, and in hunting for a nesting place she spreads 
the pollen by going in and out of the female figs. 



32 



FIG CULTURE 



rieties grown in the Meander Valley of Asia . 
Minor, all of which require pollenation. The pro- 
cess is based upon the fact that the female flowers 
inside the edible figs, which are open at the eye like 
a shell, when green, require contact with pollen 
from male flowers in order to mature. In Asia 
Minor natives bring the wasps to their cultivated 
orchards in the low lands by cutting off limbs from 
wild fig trees, which grow abundantly in the hills, 
and as the wild trees are permanent homes for 
blastophagse the branches removed contain insects 
which soon emerge from the green fruit, and then 
travel so incessantly on cultivated trees where they 
are placed, constantly entering and emerging from 
the green edible figs, that the pollen is distributed 
from their legs and wings over the innumerable fe- 
male flowers inside of each shell, and furnish fer- 
tility necessary for the growth and maturity of the 
fruit. The activity of the wasps is due to their 
search for places to lay eggs. 

There are now more than four hundred acres in 
California bearing profitable Smyrna figs. Although 
still in its infancy, the industry will in time grow to 
be an important one — judging from the yields per 
acre and the readiness with which dried fruit is sold 
at good prices. The few packages that reach the 
Central States have fine flavor, and in appearance 
they arc superior to any Smyrnas sold in this coun- 
try. Calimyrna cultivation will, doubtless, be con- 
fined to the inland counties of California, on ac- 



AREAS CULTIVATED 



count of the necessity for arid conditions during 
the fruiting and drying season. In moist localities 
the fruit must be cured in evaporators. But the 
San Joaquin Valley from Stockton for three hun- 
dred miles south, as well as the interior north and 
northeast from Los Angeles, where frosts are not too 
severe, afford attractive areas for this culture, The 
sensitiveness of blastophagae to cold, perishing in a 
hard frost, has led to their protection in elaborate 
and expensive winter quarters, where they are thor- 
oughly sheltered from the weather. 

The ease with which Calimyrna figs are dried, 
and the demand for them in their home State, has 
caused the crops to be cured in that form, rather 
than used for preserves. It may be that in the coast- 
al districts where humidity prevents successful out- 
of-door drying, they will be utilized as preserves; 
no objection can be foreseen, and it would afford 
an opportunity to considerably enlarge the area of 
their production in commercial quantities. The size 
and superior sweetness of the Calimyrna over every 
other variety suggest distinct advantages ; and it is 
difficult to find any reason why they are not adapted 
not only to every purpose for which other varieties 
are now grown, but also to many uses which Adriat- 
ics are not suitable for. 

There is a plant in Los Angeles, and a few small 
concerns at other places in the State, which preserve 
figs, these being put up without attempting any uni- 
form results. Some make a spiced article, similar to 



as 



FIG CULTURE 



sweet pickles; others use a heavy syrup in "pound 
for pound" preserves, while still others produce 
goods which vary according to standards of their 
own. The largest quantities are shipped in gallon 
tins , in very light syrup, and when reaching the 
eastern markets are repacked in the glass of distrib- 
uting concerns. As a rule, the fruit is cooked to 
pieces, which allows the seeds to escape into the 
syrup, thus injuring the appearance of the fina] 
package. Packing in gallon tins is done by cooking 
just as little as is possible in a very light syrup. 
The Eastern distributers prefer to buy goods which 
contain no sugar at all, but such can hardly be ob- 
tained. When thus processed, the original shape of 
the fruit is unimpaired, and in the artful hands of 
the repacker it is finally attractively displayed in 
convex glass. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE FIG IN THE SOUTH. 

Throughout the South the fig is extensively raised 
as a yard tree. Commercial growing has been tried 
during the past ten years with varying success, but 
it is still in an experimental condition. The varie- 
ties in domestic orchards are usually the Celeste, 
Magnolia, New French, Lemon and Brown Turkey. 
There are others, such as the Marseilles, Ischia, 
Mission and Petaleuse, but their number is inconse- 
quential. The bulletins of the Louisiana State 
University describe more than thirty varieties grow- 
ing in its experimental park. All the figs raised in 
the South are called Asiatic, to distinguish them 
from Smyrna and Capri figs, but this classification 
should not confuse them with the so-called Adriatic 
fig, a distinct variety well known to California com- 
merce. The Celeste is probably grown more for 
household uses than all others. The fruit is small 
and yellow, being sometimes called a "date fig. " 
The skin is so thin as not to interfere with eating 
when cooked, and it makes delicious marmalade. 

6 ' Of all the varieties grown in Louisiana, the Ce- 
leste is the hardiest, most prolific and most popular. 
Its one fault is its small size. There are a number 
of varieties that should be grown for preserving 
purposes. Among these should be mentioned the 



40 



FIG CULTURE 




A favorite fig in the Gulf States ; popular for its juiciness 
and flavor. 



THE FIG IN THE SOUTH 



41 



Monica Bianca, Madeline, and Brunswick, while 
the Mission is very sweet, and answers both the pur- 
poses of table and preserving fig." (La. Orchard 
Report.) 

For commercial uses the Magnolia has steadily 
supplanted other trees, and will probably increase 
in favor as it becomes better known, and as methods 
of tillage continue to be improved and simplified. 
"Figs constitute the main fruit crop of Louisiana. 
They are perfectly at home in nearly every section, 
and grow and produce abundant crops without any 
care or attention. In the event of the extension of 
the canning industry, fig growing may become of 
great commercial importance. Being soft, not being 
able to stand transportation, and not being suitable 
for commercial drying in this climate, commercial 
fig growing will depend upon the cannery for devel- 
opment. ' ' 

The use of fresh figs is confined almost entirely 
to each locality where the fruit is raised. With the 
exception of the New French, all Adriatic varieties 
open the eye upon ripening, and thus afford en- 
trance to acetic bacteria, fermentation fungoid, vin- 
egar flies and insects which quickly impair the tex- » 
ture of cells containing fruit syrup, and souring 
follows in a few hours. The New French is some- 
what more resistant to these troubles, but its keep- 
ing quality is inferior to that of ripe grapes or ripe 
strawberries. Shipments have been successfully 



FIG CULTURE 




Leaf of the Brunswick, or Magnolia Fig. The most extensively 
raised fig in the South. 



MEDICINAL VALUE OF FRUIT 



43 



made a distance of fifteen hundred miles, but under 
unusual conditions for gathering the fruit and in 
transportation that could not be depended upon as 
a commercial rule. While the taste for fresh figs 
is acquired, that for preserves is natural. When 
thoroughly ripe it has a laxative effect so well rec- 
ognized that at least two brands of patent medicine 
in large use employ the term in their labels and ad- 
vertisements. This effect is carried into the pre- 
served article, and in that state the fruit is not only 
palatable, but has medicinal value so well recog- 
nized as to be prescribed for very young infants 
whose digestion has been impaired. However, in 
this connection, it must be said there is an occasional 
person to whom the seeds act as an irritant in the 
stomach. 

It is impossible to make a general statement that 
would give proper methods of growing yard fig 
trees, for conditions are so different as to soil, water, 
exposure and temperature that beneficial treatment 
for one might be injurious to others even a few feet 
or a block away. For instance, a tree with roots un- 
der a house, or covered with wood, or litter, needs 
little attention, while those exposed to the sun in a 
grass sod will easily suffer if not carefully tilled. 
The writer has seen fruit gathered every day during 
July, August and September from a single large Ce- 
leste tree on a town lot, the continuous crop result- 
ing from care in stirring the soil and an adequate 
water supply. In the case in mind water was used 



FIG CULTURE 




Top Branch of a Brunswick Fig Tree, showing how fruit sets at 
the axil of each leaf on new wood, instead 
of on year-old fruit spurs. 



OOORYARD VARIETIES 



45 



every night during dry weather in a very small 
stream from a garden hose, and the ground was 
of such nature that there was no " water logging" 
nor accumulation in the subsoil. Such practice is 
not recommended except in occasional cases, when 
conditions permit, but from a conservative estimate 
not less than four bushels of ripe fruit was gathered 
in one season from this single tree. On the other 
hand, without moisture they invariably drop both 
fruit and leaves during long drouths, and then 
make new growth when sufficient rains follow each 
dormant period. This feature of maturing fruit 
and then becoming dormant in the summer has led 
to a general belief that there is usually but one 
crop, that some varieties produce two crops, while 
a few mature a third. Writers constantly maintain 
that fig trees have periods of fruiting, with intermit- 
tent dormant times each season, and they call the 
first of the season the choicest, or brebas figs. But 
during the summers of 1906 to 1909 observations 
in the South at a number of orchards, where ade- 
quate soil moisture and good tilth were maintained, 
determined that crops ripened continuously from 
the beginning of the season until cool nights inter- 
rupted growth, while the quantity of fruit gathered 
each day varied no more than other orchard trees 
with the weather. Notwithstanding these opinions 
it was found that under favorable conditions figs 
bear uninterruptedy in the South during the months 
of July, August and September, and until cold 




Celeste Fig. (Natural size.) 



COMMERCIAL ORCHARDS 



47 



nights in October arrest growth, when immature 
fruit is always upon the trees. 

Commercial fig growing in the South is undoubt- 
edly in its infancy. Some orchards exist in Mis- 
sissippi near the G-ulf, others near New Orleans, a 
few in the vicinity of Galveston, Beaumont and 
Houston, and there are small acreages in widely 
scattered localities. Near each orchard are one or 
more packeries maintained to preserve the fruit. 
But the industry has been rather restricted, and is 
still in an experimental condition. There are very 
serious problems that must be solved by each 
grower before any of them can establish their en- 
terprises upon a commercial footing, and few are 
willing to patiently lay a foundation for solid and 
lasting success. Then, too, a great many press 
items have done fig culture inestimable injury by 
exaggerated reports, which encourage men of inade- 
quate means, and without experience, to undertake 
the work, though seldom conceiving its serious na- 
ture, the difficulties to be overcome and the care 
and attention demanded. Undoubtedly, for a man 
of industry and knowledge, it is a profitable branch 
of farming, but unless development companies let 
it stand on merit and state facts about the trees, 
the soil, the harvest, the preserving and the markets, 
surprise and discouragement will come to growers, 
and many of them will continue to abandon or- 
chards, hastening into other occupations, and the 
culture will be further condemned in its entirety, 



48 



FIG CULTURE 



prospective investors thereby becoming unneces- 
sarily alarmed. Xo agricultural development ever 
made much progress until the difficulties,, as well as 
the profits, were equally considered, and seriously 
anticipated; for only by so doing are investors en- 
abled to act intelligently with that commendable 
circumspection which forstalls disaster; and, aside 
from all moral considerations, the industry is in- 
jured by enticing uninformed strangers thereto. 
Such development stimulates merely an abnormal 
growth; for real, lasting progress cannot be ex- 
pected otherwise than by placing the enterprise 
solely upon its inherent excellence. 

The following illustration is quoted from a 
monthly farm journal: "It is estimated that a 
bearing fig tree will average six bushels to the tree. 
Figs are planted 150 trees to the acre, which gives 
900 bushels of figs to the acre. Figured at 75 
pounds to the bushel, this would make 67.500 
pounds of preserves, which, sold at 10 cents a 
pound, would yield $6,750. Subtracting from this 
for sugar and labor, on the basis reckoned in the 
fig preserving plants, leaves a net figure of $1,687.50 
for the yield of one acre of figs. " The above, print- 
ed under the name of a contributor of local promi- 
nence, who is usually considered a careful and 
prudent man. was published in a journal which is 
creditable and representative of its class. That it 
was ever written or published at all — and it is only 
one such statement among thousands — but lllus- 



SMYRNA VARIETIES 



49 



trates the great lack of knowledge of fig culture, 
not only by the reading public but by writers as 
well, for we cannot believe responsible contrib- 
utors wilfully misstate facts. One bushel a tree is 
a good crop ; two bushels is extraordinary, and. 
when picked for preserving, weigh from forty to 
forty-eight pounds — not seventy-five. It would re- 
quire quite an extended statement to correct the 
errors in this quotation alone. 

There has never been a successful effort to ac- 
climate the Smyrna fig in the South ; it is now be- 
ing attempted in Louisiana for the first time. Sev- 
eral small shipments of nursery stock have been 
made to Georgia. Florida and Texas; and many 
trees locally believed to be of that variety are not 
so. No caprification has been successful, and it is 
doubted if the blastopha^cT could survive our sud- 
den changes of winter weather without being 
housed in very expensive quarters. It is not ques- 
tioned that Smyrna fis's. of as good size and quality 
as are grown elsewhere, can be raised in the South, 
but until some enthusiast with adequate capital 
undertakes the work in a systematic way. following 
recent experiments at other -places, the matter will 
remain problematical. The Smyrna fig is most val- 
uable when dried, and has a ready market, but the 
Gulf country is too humid for open air curing, and 
it would add so large an item of cost to process the 
fruit in evai:>orators that successful competition 
with California and foreign products would be con- 



50 



FIG CULTURE 



jectural. Except in local markets, it would not be 
a dependable crop in the fresh state. One of the 
best known fig raisers says: 4 'During the hot sea- 
son, when it attains its greatest perfection, it will 
stand for only a few hours, then becoming sour 
and worthless. If gathered green enough to stand 
shipping it will never ripen up with its natural 
flavor. " For these, as well as for other persuasive 
reasons, the fig growers have omitted the Smyrna, 
in the South, choosing, instead, that hardy, prolific 
and reliable variety known in Texas- and Louisi- 
ana as the Magnolia, or Brunswick. 

The Brunswick has many pet names, among 
which are Magnolia. Eed. Large White Turkey. 
Boughton. De St. Jean. Clementine. Bayswater. 
Hanover and Madonna. It is pyriform with swol- 
len cheeks, rather unsymmetrical. short neck, dis- 
tinct ribs, open eye with dark iris, greenish yellow 
to pale amber when ripened in the shade, otherwise 
dark violet shading to red. The place it now oc- 
cupies as the commercial fig of the South is due to 
large size, abundant juice and the fleshy envelope 
of fruit pulp just under the skin which allows of 
preserving without cooking to pieces. Even after 
the skin is removed it holds a natural shape during 
canning better than any other variety. The sugar 
content is about average, the per cent not being as 
high as that of the Smyrna and the Celeste. The 
tree naturally takes the habit of a large bush in this 
locality, and by pruning can be trained to a single. 



The bi-sected Brunswick Fig shows the meaty pulp which main- 
tains the natural shape of the fruit in cooking, 
instead of cooking to pieces. 



52 



FIG CULTURE 



a double or a multiple standard without affecting 
the strength of its growth. Those who still contend 
that the Magnolia is a new variety, distinct from the 
Brunswick, can discover their error by studying the 
leaves, bark, wood and fruit, which have character- 
istics and habits that distinguish it from all others. 
Some nurserymen profit from this misconception 
by buying cuttings of Brunswick trees at a much 
lower price than is asked for Magnolia wood, and 
they are all sold afterwards as the same stock. It is 
true, however, that in Florida and South Carolina 
the stock known commercially as the Brunswick can 
be distinguished from the Magnolia, but space will 
not permit us to enter into a discussion of the facts 
of climate, soil, origin and cultural methods which 
have developed the difference. 

"The growing of figs for preserving purposes 
has been on the increase during the last decade. 
Where canneries are located the fig industry should 
be permanent and prosperous. Near New Orleans 
figs are in demand for this purpose, as a large can- 
nery located there takes all the figs obtainable. The 
product finds a ready sale. The demand exceeds 
the supply, and the grower receives good prices." 
(La. Bull.. 112.) "At Baton Rouge and New Or- 
leans the fig is perfectly at home, growing large 
crops annually. At the latter place large quanti- 
ties are canned yearly, and fig orchards near the 
tanneries are very profitable. " (La. Bull., 52.) 



THE miE TO GATHER FRUIT 



53 



Various attempts have been made to transport 
figs from the country to canneries located in cities, 
but results have been disappointing. The fruit is 
so perishable that it is invariably impaired in shape 
and quality. One of the best equipped canneries in 
the South, especially designed for preserving figs, 
wa^ dismantled after the first season in a city, and 
has since been used for a warehouse, while all the 
costly machinery has gone to the country dis- 
tributed among small canneries located near orch- 
ards. In order to transport to a distance the fruit 
must be picked too green to have flavor, and the 
final product is not only inferior, but more ex- 
pensive, requiring a larger amount of sugar. 
While ripening Magnolia figs more than double in 
size during the last two or three days ; for shipping 
they are picked so green as to weigh only forty 
pounds per bushel: if allowed to remain upon the 
trees another day their weight is increased eight 
pounds a bushel; if not picked until thoroughly 
ripe they weigh about sixty-two pounds a bushel. 
This rapid growth is caused by the accumulation 
of juice in the fruit, so that not only is it heavier 
than when green, but each fig is larger. Therefore, 
the gain is four-fold : the size of each fig is greater, 
the cells become filled with natural syrup, the pro- 
portion of sugar is increased and flavor is im- 
proved: it is difficult to find any mechanical process 
which will make such rapid gain in size, weight, 
quality and flavor. These considerations so com- 



54 



FIG CULTURE 




This fruit is not only juicy, but has sufficient body to make it an 
all-around, serviceable variety, very popular 
in the Gulf States. 



GATHERING THE CROP 



55 



mend themselves commercially that preservers 
should assume the increased cost of labor in handling 
the fruit near orchards, where it can be used ripe, 
rather than in cities at considerable distances from 
the harvest field. Of course, when marmelades and 
crushed fig products are made, the reasons for 
shortening the haul do not apply with the same 
force, for then the only material danger is from 
souring; but. if a first-class article of preserved 
whole fruit is attempted, the figs must be cooked 
before they reach such a state of ripeness, or mutila- 
tion, as to go to pieces when heated. Transporta 
tion is as important to the grower as it is to the 
packer. He must gather his crop in such state of 
maturity as the packer directs, and if the cannery 
is close by he can allow the fruit to add ten pounds 
to the weight of each bushel by hanging longer on 
the trees, and still deliver it fresh and unmutilated. 
It will increase his income thirty cents a bushel, or 
forty dollars an acre. The facts argue so well for 
small canneries scattered among orchards at no 
great distances apart, that, when it is considered at 
what moderate cost an adequate preserving plant 
may be equipped, it becomes practicable not only 
for canning establishments, but also for individual 
farmers with four acres, or more, of bearing com- 
mercial trees, to have plants of their own. and by 
observing such rules as may be required by dealers 
and consumers, for uniform consistency and flavor 
of syrups, either for each grower to pack his own 



56 



FIG CULTURE 



goods, or for a cannery to be maintained in each 
neighborhood, thus greatly lessening the loss of 
raw material and improving its quality from nat- 
ural causes, while the independence of the pro- 
ducers will thereby be greatly aided. The commer- 
cial value of fig preserves must finally rest quite 
as much upon flavor as upon appearance, and 
when the fruit is picked green enough to stand 
transportation from orchards to canneries in cities, 
and still maintain its natural shape, while cooking, 
the quality is impaired and the quantity greatly re- 
duced. Whenever quality is not up to the same 
standard found in home-made preserves people 
familiar with fig flavor will be disappointed and 
the demand will be injured; but fruit ripened on 
the trees has characteristic flavor in the final prod- 
uct and is the agreeable and healthful article all 
canners should attempt to produce. The best flavor 
cannot be found in fruit picked green, and it is 
therefore of primary importance to lessen the dis- 
tance between the trees and the cannery so far as 
is reasonably possible. 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE FIG IN ASIA. 

The figs of Asia exported from Smyrna to al- 
most every city and hamlet in the Western world 
have so familiarized ns with the product that it is 
a household word. Notwithstanding this industry 
the prosperity of Smyrna is due more to its trade 
in raisins and olives. About thirty varieties are 
grown within one hundred miles of that town, all 
called Smyrnas. Lob Ingir (juicy fig) is the 
choicest. 

The Meander Valley, lying about eighty miles 
south of Smyrna, is the principal location of this 
culture. The fruit is packed and exported from 
Smyrna, its familiar name coming from trade la- 
bels. The valley has a drier climate than the town 
of Smyrna, elevated two to six hundred feet above 
sea level, is about fifty miles long and five wide, and 
protected on the north by the Salatin Mountains. 
During the last decade the cultivated area has 
widened into the foothills, and has reached ancient 
Ephesus on the north. 

Although located in the same latitude as TVichita. 
Pueblo, San Francisco, Shanghai and Kabul, the 
temperature of the Meander Valley is modified by 
the Mediterranean Sea and the Salatin Mountains, 
the climate being about like that of Central Florida, 



58 



FIG CULTURE 



Southern Texas. Northeastern Mexico, Sonora and 
Southern California. Greek merchants have di- 
rected the curing and packing, more or less, during 
the last century, and their cleanly methods and at- 
tractive goods have resulted in successful competi- 
tion with foreign fruit whose inherent excellence 
would justify their control of local markets. The 
Faro figs, of Portugal, were thus driven from Euro- 
pean fields, and that industry declined until it has 
completely languished: Palermo and Calabrian figs 
were likewise outclassed: the' difficulty those from 
Kabylia found in bringing good prices resulted 
more from careless handling after harvest than 
from lack of merit. 

In the Meander Valley, figs are not picked, but 
drop from the trees on smooth, mellow ground, and 
either gathered at once, to avoid injury from birds 
and insects, or allowed to dry for a day or two 
where they fall. They are then carried to Smyrna 
in hair baskets, or mats, and sold to merchants. 
After being sorted into three grades the refuse is 
put up in fifty-pound bags for coffee adulteration 
or for distilling. The best grade is called ' ; eleme. M 
or select, the next grade "loeoum." Very few eleme 
reach the United States. "Erbelli" is a special 
brand of eleme figs, supposed to be choicest, and 
r-ome from Erbeghli. a small village in the Meandei 
Valley. English shippers have recently invaded 
this field and by packing under their established 



THE FIG IN ASIA 



59 




Two varieties of ripe Smyrna Figs. 



60 



FIG CULTURE 



trade brands grades of fruit can be relied upon to 
continue uniformly year after^ear. 

Natives plant trees sixty feet apart by digging 
a good sized hole for each and placing two long 
cuttings therein, which cross below the ground. The 
angle of the cuttings is supposed to allow trees to 
bend when their tops become heavy to avoid break- 
ing. Cuttings are left one bud above the ground 
level, and the exposed part is then covered with 
a mound of loose earth to prevent drying by wind 
and sun. No pruning is done and the "multiple 
standard" which results allows the greatest free- 
dom of air and sunshine, for, like other fruit, the 
poorest figs grow in the shade. The fruit is not 
used for drying until the trees are four or more 
years of age. Large trees sometimes yield eight 
bushels each, the average being about six. Their 
caprification is discussed elsewhere. 

In Syria, Phoenicia and Arabia varieties reached 
a high state of development, and many of them 
were introduced into Europe during the inva- 
sions of Arabs. The Faro fig, of Algarve, was 
transplanted from Arabia in that way. East 
of Syria and Arabia, their introduction has been 
slow, although wild trees are apparently native in 
India. They are described as flourishing in Chinese 
gardens the latter part of the sixteenth century, and 
have since extended over the entire southern part 
of the "Celestial Empire' ' and India. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE FIG IN EUROPE. 

Figs are raised in Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, 
France and Southern England. Around Paris 
forty-nine varieties are known, and more care is 
given than at any other place. They are buried in 
winter, maturity is advanced by a drop of oil placed 
on each eye, leaf buds are carefully selected and 
systematic pruning continues throughout the grow- 
ing season. Until recently the figs of Algarve had 
for centuries supplied all large western markets. 
Figo da Comadre acquired fame for size, appear- 
ance and quality. Careless methods of handling 
are largely responsible for the loss of that industry, 
as the half-dried fruit, brought to merchants by 
uncleanly peasants was dumped upon the ground 
to drain the juice off to be manufactured into 
brandy. Then, bruised and injured, it was spread 
out in the dirt an indefinite time to dry before be- 
ing packed into unattractive baskets made of leaves. 
The consumers were thereby prepared to discrimin- 
ate in favor of Smyrna figs so soon as better meth- 
ods of curing resulted in attractive and clean fruit 
and the Portugese product was without a market. 

The exportations from Spain to France, Austria, 
Great Britain and Germany are enormous, being 
largely utilized in the manufacture of distilled 
spirits. Burjasot is the most popular variety. 



62 



FIG CULTURE 



Sicily, Southern Italy and the Liparian Islands 
form a district where figs are an important crop. 
The export trade is largely to other parts of Italy. 
In the extreme south their quality is superior to 
Smyrnas in sweetness, but inferior in size, color, 
aroma and texture of skin. They slightly out-rank 
Smyrnas in albuminoids. The merchants pack 
them in primitive esparto mats. 

In England fig culture is done in pots and green- 
houses, but is profitable. Occasionally a tree will 
thrive close to a high north wall. Soil for pots is 
made of one-fourth slaked lime and three-fourths 
loam. Dilute urine is used for fertilizer. The trees 
are re-potted each fall and kept cool to insure dor- 
mancy, but protected from frost during winter. In 
comfortable temperatures they bear continuously 
from June until October. Ripe fruit sells at good 
prices. 

Fig culture has a very ancient history in Greece, 
dating back to the ninth century, B. C. At one 
time the tree was sacred, like the olive, its origin 
being attributed to Demeter, who created it in re- 
ward for hospitality. Exportations were prohib- 
ited, being considered too valuable. It was sym- 
bolic of fertility, and fruitfulness. and was used in 
religious ceremonies. Most of the crop is now made 
into brandy, its quality being inferior to Smyrnas 
in every respect. Notwithstanding, 1,500,000 tons 
are exported annually to central Europe. 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE PIG IN AFRICA. 

Outside of Smyrna the largest fig district in the 
world is east of Algiers, in Kabylia, where twenty- 
eight edible varieties are grown ; some require capri- 
fication. They are dried in the sun and constitute 
a staple food of the country the year around. Those 
exported are packed in baskets and jars, with sweet 
bay leaves to protect them from insects. In quality 
all are inferior to Smyrnas and are mainly used in 
Europe in making distilled liquor and for adultera- 
tions of coffee. About 800,000 tons reach Europe 
annually, being the principal crop of the district. 
The trees grow very large, and high, and are tilled 
oftener with the spade than with oxen. In winter 
young limbs are plastered with cow dung to pro- 
tect from frost, and sinks are made around each 
tree to collect the scant rainwater. Those who are 
able plow twice each year, in January and May. 
The trees are planted forty feet apart. Poor meth- 
ods of curing and packing result in unattractive 
fruit. 

Egypt is an ancient home of figs, but the indus- 
try has never reached important proportions, about 
100,000 tons of inferior quality covering the annual 
export trade. 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE FLOWERS AND FRUIT. 

Fig flowers are invariably grown on the inside of 
woody, shell-like envelopes, all of which softens 
into fruit. Some trees bear male flowers, others 
bear both male and female, while the edible Smyrna 
varieties have only female flowers. The flowers of 
other edible figs are probably descended from fe- 
males and are sometimes called mule flowers. Pol- 
lenation is necessary with Smyrna and Kabylia 
varieties, and is accomplished by hatching blasto- 
phagae in male fruit, the insects, while struggling 
to emerge, becoming covered with pollen, which 
they carry to female flowers in seeking places to lay 
eggs. But one kind of wasp has been found adapt- 
ed to this work, the flowers being so concealed by 
surrounding fibre that bees and other insects fail 
to find them. 

The smallest figs measure less than an inch in 
each dimension, and are of the following varieties : 
Angelique, Bargenron, White Barnissotte, Bermis- 
senca, Betada, Bondance Precoce, Boutard, Caiana, 
Celeste, De Constantine, Early Violet, Grassale. 
Giuliana, Tschia, Lipari, Magdalen, Martinique. 
Mourenao, Nigra, Pergussata, Rocardi, Rondeletta, 
Trifero, and Verdal. 

The largest sometimes grow five inches long, with 



VARIETIES AND CROPS 



63 



an equal width, and are of the following varieties : 
Castle Kennedy, Col do Signora Panachee, Cor- 
delia, Cotignana. Dalmatia. Dauphine, Dorqueira 
Xegra, Douro, Ford, Genoa, Gentile. Grosso, Mon- 
streuse de Lipari, Lampeira. Mouissouna, Osborn 
Prolific, Palopal, Black Portugal. Recousse Noire. 
Ronde Noire, Rouge de la Frette, Saint Esprit, San 
Pedro, Tapa Cartin, Vernissenque, Warren, and 
Zizi Kheda. 



Lipari : the smallest of all edible figs. (Natural size.) 



Although when properly cared for, in the South 
they bear a continuous crop from July until Octo- 
ber; under different conditions European, African 
and Asiatic figs mature intermittently, the first be- 
ing called brebas, and the second Autumn figs. 
Crops of capri figs are called, first, profichi; second, 
mammoni, and third, mamme, or winter figs, which 
last remaining on the trees all winter like buttons, 
furnish quarters for blastophagae. 




CHAPTER VIII. 



THE PROPAGATION OF NEW VARIETIES. 

As writers describe several hundred varieties of 
fig trees the creation of new ones is attended with 
few practical results. Eisen mentions three hun- 
dred and fifty-five, and gives sufficient detail to 
distinguish many. It can hardly be doubted that 
among these one can be found suitable to every 
particular purpose. There is no such thing as all 
around perfection in any one variety, any more 
than perfection is found in other fruit, for each 
stock is limited to characteristics suitable to a single 
purpose. "Varieties must be adapted to specific 
uses — one for shipping, one for canning, one for 
dessert, one for keeping qualities, and the like. The 
more good varieties there are of any species, the 
more widely and successfully that species can be 
cultivated." It requires several years to obtain 
results from each tree used for experimental pur- 
poses, and comparative tests, to be of any value, 
should continue over long periods of time. In this 
work more can be accomplished with known varie- 
ties than by originating new ones. In creating them 
several generations of careful selection must con- 
tinue to develop stock that will "come true," as 
their tendency is to revert, and useless trees must 
be destroyed in great numbers. Varieties are not 
listed in this treatise, the references in the preface 



VARIATIONS IN TYPES 



"1 



leading to such information if desired, and as habits 
of growth are rapidly modified by changes of soil, 
climate and moisture, hard and fast descriptions 
often mislead, their value being chiefly historical. 
A tree grows accustomed to its surroundings, and 
will gradually adapt itself to new conditions. If 
removed toward the poles, or if taken from rich 
soil to poor or dry ground, its tendency is to become 
dwarfed, though remaining healthy; and dwarfed 
trees may be encouraged in growth by removal to 
richer soil and places having longer seasons. Varia- 
tions in types are also produced by manipulating 
tops, and by treating the soil. These are often mis- 
taken for new creations, and become so fixed in time 
as to be distinguished from the original stock. 

Figs grown close to trees having male flowers 
sometimes contain fertile seed, which can be ascer- 
tained by putting them in water, for those which 
are sterile float, while good seed sink. Male flow- 
ers are usually grown on caprifigs, and new varie- 
ties can be readily propagated from them. They 
should be planted in sandy loam, about half an 
inch deep, and protected with glass until several 
inches high to prevent excessive evaporation. After 
the first year they may be set in nursery rows. 

Seed generally produce wild figs, which are 
worthless. While, doubtless, valuable varieties were 
thus bred in ancient times, we have no authen- 
tic account of them. The Mitchell and the Mes- 
lin are supposed to be more recent seedlings. 



72 



FIG CULTURE 



but their origin has been disputed. Seed have 
been planted in large beds, some horticulturists 
using a pint at once, and usually but one 
or two promising trees have resulted in each 
case. While they mostly produce wild figs, even 
those which are edible seldom have female flow- 
ers alone, and the presence of male flowers in 
the same fig renders it worthless, that part of 
the fruit where the male flower grows never ma- 
turing, but remains tough and woody. Some of 
our most valuable edible varieties grow male flow- 
ers the first year or two, but their number rapidly 
diminishes with age. 



CHAPTER IX. 



THE SIZE OF THE ORCHARD. 

It usually requires considerable self-restraint for 
farmers to confine their fig orchards to areas they 
can cultivate intensively. Successful tillage is gen- 
erally accomplished by persons whose operations 
are not hindered by family traditions about farm- 
ing, and whose plans are unhampered by habits of 
thought that have become crystalized through pa- 
ternal instructions; such knowledge often inter- 
fering with improvement. The ease with which 
figs are popularly supposed to be grown renders it 
difficult for an average man to limit his work to a 
field over which he can maintain complete control. 
Five acres is a good orchard for a farmer who has 
no grown sons at home ; the first six months of each 
year it should consume about one-fourth of his 
time, and about all of it during: each fruiting season. 
We remember the Greek who encouraged his sons 
to diligent tillaee by the statement when dyir^ that 
treasure lay buried in his vineyard, and how their 
searches were rewarded by bountiful harvests. Five 
acres well tilled twelve inches deep will raise more 
good figs than ten acres tilled six inches deep. The 
storehouse of plant food and the reservoir of soil 
moisture is beneath the surface, and when those 
immeasurable depths of fertility are stirred, and 



74 



FIG CULTURE 



fined, the principal sources of vitality are re- 
moved to safer feeding grounds below the quickly 
varying, rapidly changing surface strata. Here 
soil conditions ever fluctuate from exposure to the 
rise and fall of atmospheric temperature, the ve- 
locity of winds, the amount of vapor above and 
other transient influences. 

Compared with the usual cost of nursery trees, 
the price of stock is small. The labor of setting an 
orchard is also inconsiderable, as a mere fissure in 
the earth, made with a spade, is usually adequate 
for a young tree. In properly prepared ground 
two men should plant one thousand a day, and if 
in good condition all should live. Lands adapted 
for fig culture are available, reasonable and ac- 
cessible throughout the South, and these conditions, 
and the high prices of preserves, tempt many into 
planting too much ground. A nimble farmer with 
the best tools and three good horses, can properly 
till thirty to forty-five acres, using all his time. 
From the first of the year he will be very busy until 
frost in the fall, and the crop will needs be harvest- 
ed by others. While thus a slave to his orchard, 
with no opportunity for recreation and mental 
improvement, the farm will be his master. In- 
stead of a "lord of his manor" he will not enjoy 
the primary results of toil, the fields will absorb 
his brain and brawn, and assume a mastery until 
he is finally claimed as its own. The individual, 
family and community are uplifted by diversifica- 



COST OF PRESERVING 



75 



tion, and where activities are directed toward differ- 
ent interests, with one principal line of work, sec- 
ondary matters often prove to be of the most con- 
siderable assistance and value. Cattle, horses, hogs, 
poultry, the family orchard and truck garden, the 
meadow, cornfield and pasture are all essentials of 
a well regulated rural home, and cannot be omitted 
without lessening the efficiency of the farmstead. 
Here they can be utilized with little comparative 
cost, and the least loss of time, resulting in the 
greatest possible profit. So, if a grower plants 
from four to six, not over ten, acres in figs, he will 
have a main industry and a principal source of 
revenue, one that will amply provide family wants, 
giving him time for secondary interests and the 
opportunity to improve his relation toward the com- 
munity far different from the life of a drudge. 

Since a fig plantation requires considerable capi- 
tal, if the grower intends to maintain his farm upon 
a cash basis, or with reasonable provision against 
adversity, and still be comparatively independent 
of the market for fresh fruit, he should equip for 
preserving his own crop. In most cases this is a 
serious financial undertaking, as the following fig- 
ures indicate: Ten acres should yield, annually, 
one thousand five hundred bushels. For gathering, 
preserving and marketing in first-class glass pack- 
ages, it costs from seven to ten dollars a bushel; 
this estimate includes an allowance of three cents a 
pound for the fruit. Ten acres would then require 



76 



FIG CULTURE 



from ten thousand five hundred to fifteen thousand 
dollars operating capital to handle each crop. This 
investment is partly for glass and sugar in the 
spring, and labor during the summer, with no re- 
turns until fall, and is very persuasive that, ordi- 
narily, development should be confined to limited 
acreages until the growth of each business justifies 
its expansion into more formidable proportions. 
These figures will not carry weight with those who 
have unlimited credit, or adequate capital, but are 
suggestive to the ordinary man who is contemplat- 
ing the culture of figs. If one has the resources, 
the technical knowledge, the broad experience there 
is no fundamental objection to a large farm, for its 
profits offer attractive inducements. The financial 
system of our country, although sufficiently devel- 
oped to operate most enterprises on credit, where 
they are located in cities, has not reached that 
elasticity, and refinement, necessary to justify 
planting fig orchards in the hope of profit without 
substantial investment, and conservative horticul- 
turists will be deliberate in expanding field opera- 
tions except when placed upon rational cash bases. 

Ts fig raising on a commercial scale adapted to 
small acreages? Can it be made a profitable occu- 
pation for a farmer of modest means? When til- 
lage, harvest, preserving and markets are consid- 
ered, is it adapted to a family which owns but few 
acres? These are questions each inquirer must de- 
termine for himself, and if this book shall assist in 



SMALL FARMS 



77 



guiding the reader to utilize from three to ten acres 
in a profitable way such encouragement to inten- 
sive horticulture will have justified its publication. 
The future of the industry appears to tend toward 
small farms thoroughly tilled, and its growth to 
considerable proportions to depend upon the care 
and skill with which limited premises are brought 
to conditions of reasonable perfection. Without ven- 
turing precarious prophecy we can tell from the 
well trailed present that a controlling factor in the 
future will be the encouragement average farmers 
receive to plant a few acres each— not dreaming 
of gilded millions made in vast plantations. Some 
distance northwest of Salt Lake City, sheltered on 
every side by snow capped Rockies, there is a small 
apple orchard, where, upon less than two acres, 
fruit is grown rivaling that of the world in size 
and quality, selling readily at twenty to fifty cents 
apiece. These superior apples find their way even 
to London and Berlin, where specimens occasion- 
ally appear more upon exhibition than as a market 
staple ; but the intensive cultivation which precedes 
each crop, including even the training of limbs, 
selection of fruit spurs, and pruning of blossoms, 
is considered with that care and devotion which in- 
dicates an artist spirit directing the work. Such 
systematic labor, applied in our line, would result 
in thoroughbred fig orchards, for no one can fore- 
cast the extent to which trees may be improved by 
intelligent field work, their amelioration by evolu- 
tion in breeding, and in the selection of parent 
varieties. 



CHAPTER X. 



FIG TEEE FOOD. 

In a general way the food of fig trees is the same 
that other plants consume — oxygen, nitrogen, hy- 
drogen, carbon, silicon, sulphur, phosphorus and 
chlorine of the non-metalics, and potassium, cal- 
cium, magnesium, sodium, aluminum and iron of 
the metals. Although oxygen forms about forty- 
two per cent of their substance, it is taken from 
the air by leaves without effort to find a supply. 
Most other elements are either similarly inspired or 
exist in abundance in ordinary soils, so they may 
be at once dismissed from consideration. Vege- 
table matter contains forty-five per cent of carbon 
and six and one-half per cent of hydrogen, both of 
which are derived from air and water, so there re- 
mains but about one-fifteenth part of tree food, the 
supply of which is of practical concern. Nitrogen 
forms but one and one-half per cent of plant sub- 
stance, and potash less than five per cent. These 
three — potash, phosphorus and nitrogen — are the 
only foods that have thus far become depleted in 
soils and they constitute less than seven per cent 
of the total. The practical problem is to maintain 
these ingredients, when needed, in such forms and 
proportions as to be most available and nutritious. 
How plant food is obtained and made into leaf, sap, 



r 



NtTrogp/7. 

Potassium 

Phosphorus 



M//?er<tf Adtfer. 



A diagram showing the proportion of nitrogen, potash and 
phosphorus contained in good top soil. The black spaces indicate 
these elements, while the remainder of the large square represents 
the relative amount of mineral matter. 



80 



FIG CULTtJR-E 



fibre and fruit is one of the mysteries of life. We 
know that soil minerals are carried in solutions up- 
ward through infinite cells until they reach the 
leaves, where, coming in contact with carbonic acid 
and starch they decompose under the influence of 
heat, light and protoplasm, but how the plant knows 
the time to change starch into sugar, when to make 
protein, or to manufacture fibre, oil or cellulose 
will ever remain one of the miracles of creation. 

There is no record of a chemist having estimated 
the quantity of chemical food consumed by an acre 
of fig trees. Reliable analyses have shown the 
amount used by wheat, corn, apples, plums, and 
other fruits, and the proportion of each. To those 
who desire to investigate this subject some general 
considerations may be of value. 

We know that all plants must have phosphorus, 
potash and nitrogen or they cannot live. The ashes 
are mineral while nitrogen is vegetable or organic 
matter. For best growth some plants require an 
excess of one element while others prefer a differ- 
ent proportion. Lichen will cling to the tiniest 
crevasses in sheer rock, spreading its moss over crags, 
while the minute rootlets feed on slowly dissolving 
stone, making way in time for some more important 
vegetable growth. Long after the lichen has died 
ferns thrive upon humus formed by the decaying 
moss; then rocks disintegrate more rapidly. If 
ground to clay their minerals would be more avail- 



Soil formation 



81 



able for plants, and vegetable growth hastens min- 
eral decomposition. As rock, stone and sand are al- 
ternately washed and dried by rain and wind the 
exposed surfaces are worn and the fluids carry off 
phosphorus and potash. When these solutions come 
in contact with roots they are rapidly absorbed; if 
not, some form combinations with other chemicals 
and become solid again. 

However, Dame Nature is not so resourceless as 
to provide but one method of soil formation. She 
works in many ways in the evolution of plant life. 
There are but few substances that are not contin- 
ually oxidizing while exposed to the atmosphere, 
and all sorts of solids are gradually disintegrating 
into dust simply from the action of sun and air. 
Changes of temperature assist in this process, for 
the hardest granite gradually weakens until it 
breaks from alternate heating and cooling in Na- 
ture's laboratory. The expansive power of water 
in forming ice is a force which no mineral can with- 
stand, and as crevasses wear in rocks they fill from 
rains, and freezes rend them asunder, shaking their 
solid foundations. The friction of moving streams 
wears all stones smooth, gradually grinding them to 
powder. Millions of tons of soil are always in mo- 
tion by the ever young wind that disports from 
place to place. Earthworms digest the entire top 
soil every fifty years. Each crop of weeds leaves 
billions of little threadlike rootlets where air en- 
ters and higher plant life is supported by their de- 



82 



FIG CULTURE 



cay. Every animal directly affects the physical 
condition of the soil by manurial returns, while all 
subterranean pests, such as ants, "crawfish," beav- 
ers, squirrels, gophers and moles are man's good 
friends in preparing the earth for his use, and en- 
richment, by their natural methods of tillage. 

The creation of mineral plant food is largely a 
question of surface exposure to soil water; the 
ability of plants to avail of it is another matter. 
The quantity of mineral food in any soil depends 
mainly upon how fine the particles are divided and 
how well water can percolate through it around 
each particle. A single boulder has comparatively 
little surface; cut into quadrants the exterior is 
more than doubled ; divide each quadrant into four 
more parts and the exposure is doubled again ; con- 
tinue this division until each cubic inch of rock 
has a billion soil particles and the surface is 
infinitely increased. If percolating water can 
surround each particle its opportunity to ab- 
sorb potash and phosphorus is immeasurably 
greater than when unable to penetrate the single 
rock. We think of glass as a most insoluble 
substance, but if a tumbler be reduced to an 
impalpable powder and soaked in rainwater the 
solution will have three per cent potash and 
phosphorus. "We must conclude, therefore, that 
the mineral food stored in all ordinary soils is 
adequate for plants an indefinite period of time. We 
can also infer that indiscriminate additions of min- 



m en? 



P^ H-^ 

P p P g 

3 3 3 & 
^ w So* 

P n- 1 *? © 
0* M 

Nit 

«< - o 
O 

P CT> 
P £* 

$ m B 
o p 

Oq P g 

•do® 



p 2 

p & o* 

& O 
P 0. 

& s ° 
o 2.0 



34 



FIG CULTURE 



eral fertilizers is often a prodigal waste of money 
and labor. Soil should be brought to the highest 
condition of tilth and humus content before ex- 
pense is incurred for mineral plant food. 

"It is a very astonishing fact, but looked upon 
in the light of our experiments it is an actual fact, 
that all soils contain sufficient plant food for the 
support of plants. Further, when the plant takes 
into its substance some of the mineral matter from 
the solution the solid minerals in contact with the 
solution immediately dissolve and the solution is 
restored to its former concentration." (U. S., Bull., 
257.) 

An exhaustive analysis of an apple orchard was 
recently made. The leaves, wood and fruit gave a 
basis to estimate the quantity of potash and phos- 
phorus used per acre; the soil was also analyzed. 
Results showed that in sixteen inches of top soil 
there was enough latent food to produce about two 
hundred consecutive crops, viz: potash adequate 
for one hundred and eighty-three years, and phos- 
phorus for two hundred and sixty years. Similar 
analyses have shown that the demands of wheat, 
rye, plums and pears are about the same as apples, 
the facts forcibly illustrating that soil is a very 
storehouse of potash and phosphorus to be unlocked 
by every farmer who wishes by tillage and main- 
taining physical conditions congenial to plant 
growth. 



PLANT FOOD 



85 



The quantity of minerals drained from powdered 
glass indicate an elementary rule important in 
agriculture ; it was found that three per cent of the 
glass dissolved in the percolating water ; of course, 
the particles were microscopically fine. This dem- 
onstration gave reasons for the importance of tillage 
to every farmer in the land, promoting the wide- 
spread opinion among modern horticulturists that 
the maintenance of fertility is largely a matter of 
providing soil moisture where needed. The inter- 
esting revelation soon followed the above that as 
roots absorb minerals from this solution its strength 
is revived by additions from the same soil particles, 
so that with constant water supply the proportion 
of plant food remains about the same. Ordinarily, 
soil minerals resolve at least as readily as powdered 
glass. 

By laying aside our traditions about fertility 
common illustrations of these facts can be recalled. 
One man raises potatoes on the same piece of 
ground year after year, the annual crop decreasing 
until too small for profit. He terms the ground 
"worn out" and leaves it idle for a year, or more, 
to recover vitality. While unused no mineral plant 
food is added ; it is simply idle land, and yet. after 
a while, will grow potatoes again. Then there was 
always a sufficient quantity of potash and phos- 
phorus. If the farmer had added fertilizers during 
the years crops declined he would have postponed 
the time when yields ceased, but the soil would 



86 



FIG CULTURE 



have run out at last. Yet at the end of such periods 
chemists find the same quantity, and proportion, of 
potash and phosphorus that existed when the fields 
produced abundantly. 

To illustrate again: potatoes failing, a normal 
yield of wheat may be obtained from the same land. 
"Wheat uses potash and phosphorus in the same 
forms potatoes do. The relative proportion of min- 
erals consumed by the former varies slightly from 
that used by the latter, but in either case the two 
minerals are essential to support plant growth. 
That wheat will thrive where potatoes failed shows 
that potash and phosphorus are not only abundant, 
but. further, are present in forms suited to vege- 
table uses. If abundant, soluble and available, then 
we must look for some other fact besides the sup- 
posed absence of plant food to account for soils 
wearing out by continuous cropping. Scientists 
have been searching for that result a long time; 
they have looked fpr some substance gradually in- 
creasing in quantity while one crop is grown ex- 
clusively, deleterious to it. and yet not injurious 
to other plants; that substance has been found to 
be their excreta. 

"If there are toxic substances thrown off by 
plants which the soil is not in a condition to re- 
move, or change at once, we try to change it at 
once by cultivation, by aeration, by oxidation." 
(U. S. Bull.. 257.) This idea, though recently 



WORN-OUT LANDS 



87 



demonstrated by the Department of Agriculture, is 
not a new one. Lindley wrote, in 1839: "One 
function of the root bark is to give off such superflu- 
ous matter as it is necessary for its health that the 
plant should part with. If roots are so circum- 
stanced that they cannot constantly advance into 
fresh soil, they will, by degrees, be surrounded by 
their own excrementitious secretions." 

Virginia has a large area of worn out tobacco 
lands, which have been so constantly used they 
yield no longer. No amount of concentrated fertil- 
izer will induce the growth of tobacco. These lands 
are often rich in humus and in good physical con- 
dition, producing an abundance of other crops. 
Their behavior points to the conclusion that to- 
bacco has been grown so continuously its excreta 
has saturated the soil and is poisonous to that plant. 
We know that in power of absorption rootlets can- 
not discriminate digesting toxic solutions readily; 
and that plant fluids enter through membranes very 
near the root tips, newly formed wood throwing off 
an impenetrable bark as they extend, the corky 
cover protecting fibre from poisonous substances. 
We also see that roots continually excrete injurious 
solutions, for no one is able to make grass grow on 
the drainage side of large trees, though he furnish 
never so much sunshine, air and artificial fertility. 

This question may be considered a digression 
from the subject of fig culture, but it is at the basis 



FIG CULTURE 



of tree life and orchard management. Unless the 
reader can assume that soil naturally contains suffi- 
cient potash and phosphorus he is not ready to 
study the more intricate subject of making natural 
fertility available, nor to consider the more expen- 
sive problem of maintaining adequate nitrogen, by 
natural means, and artificial additions. The soil 
is a storehouse of potash and phosphorus. This 
broad statement is not literal, but punctuates the 
fact that not only granite rocks and coarse sand, but 
fine clays as well, are composed in part of these vege- 
table foods. The roots do not push their tips into 
such substances; they grow by tissue building like 
coral reefs that rise from the bottom of oceans by 
accumulations of one minute particle after another 
upon the same foundations. They grow by ingest- 
ing food in solution, and build tissues out of dilute 
sap by chemical changes inside the trees. The tips 
of root hairs absorb liquid through membranes; 
hence we say that plant food must be brought to 
the root terminals in the medium of water. Root- 
lets digest the ingredients of former rocks, chang- 
ing them into tissue and wood fibre, the terminals 
proceeding between soil particles by a process of 
accretion called osmosis. Like the building of an 
icicle it continues along lines of least resistance. The 
rootlets turn from lumps of clay, but grow rapidly 
in decaying organic matter. If soil has become ce- 
mented by rains, or baked in the sun, it is not con- 
genial feeding ground. If trampled by stock while 



GROWTH OF ROOTS 



89 



wet, impenetrable lumps have formed under each 
footprint. If plowed before becoming crumbly the 
furrow slices may have run together into large cakes 
I of hard earth. In either event it is uncomfortable 
for roots, and results in dwarfed growth. A com- 
mercial tree requires conditions that force activity 
faster than its wild ancestor grew, and unless those 
artificial aids are abundantly supplied it will tend 
to revert to forest habits. Being a product of evo- 
lution it demands good treatment by modern meth- 
ods of tillage almost as clearly as a human being re- 
quires a civilized environment, without which he 
degenerates with alarming rapidity. Upon aban- 
doning a fig tree it rapidly becomes scrawny, scaly, 
sunburnt, frostbitten, attacked by nematodes and in 
every way shows inability to compete with plants 
of the wild. As well expect a college professor to 
continue his habits of life while stranded alone 
among savages as to think that a commercial fig 
tree can maintain itself in excellent condition when 
left to the ravages of primitive vegetation. 

The supply of nitrogen is a most important con- 
sideration for every farmer. He must learn from 
the feel of the soil if it is needed, and how and when 
to add it; it is his first proper concern to acquire 
methods for maintaining an adequate quantity by 
economical and efficient tillage with such additions 
in fertilizers as may become necessary. Potash and 
phosphorus, comparatively inexpensive, are abund- 
ant and well retained in the soil without effort. But 



Jar 1 contained in weight one-eighth grass mixed with pow- 
dered quartz ; no other fertilizer. 

Jar 2 contained ordinary farm land and fertilizer in the pro- 
portion : phosphorus 10 per cent., potash 6 per cent., and nitro- 
gen 4 per cent. 

Jar 3 contained ordinary fertile farm soil. 

Seed was planted the same time in each jar. The growth in 
Jar 1 illustrates how well green manure supplies plant food. 



NITROGEN 



nitrogen is costly, evaporates easily, leaches quickly, 
changes by denitrification into volatile compounds, 
and is altogether elusive. The principal sources are 
rain, atmosphere, manure and commercial fertiliz- 
ers. All cover crops prevent leaching, while le- 
gumes, by accumulations from the atmosphere, leave 
nitrogen deposited in nodules on their roots. 

Of course, nitrogen is merely an incident — a vital 
incident — of production. It is one of many ele- 
ments of plant food, and an abundance of nutri- 
ment is but one of the indispensable causes of 
growth. Heat, air, water, tillage, texture and hu- 
mus are each equally important for a crop. These 
elements compose fertility ; the several metallic and 
non-metallic substances we are discussing are the 
sources of plant food. 

It will neither be attempted to list the commer- 
cial forms of nitrogen nor to discuss their cost and 
comparative value. Such information is obtainable 
from numerous government bulletins, and text- 
books. Our space is devoted to specific suggestions 
that will guide the grower in orchard work. Most 
commercial fertilizers contain less than four per 
cent of nitrogen, often two per cent. Then in four 
hundred pounds of chemical fertilizer, the quantity 
often applied per acre, there are eight to sixteen 
pounds of nitrogen. As soil has abundance of 
potash and phosphorus, for orchard uses, without 
that contained in fertilizers, its value depends large- 



92 



FIG CULTURE 



ly upon this small addition of nitrogen, from forty 
to fifty pounds to the ton. Whether it is economy 
to buy fertility in this form is a matter of compu- 
tation to be easily determined by each farmer. Fig- 
uring its original cost, the haul, spreading and mix- 
ing with soil, as compared with the expense of ac- 
cumulating nitrogen from the air by growing in- 
noculated legumes, and that saved from percolat- 
ing rain water, it can be estimated which source 
is most economical. An acre of cow peas will ordi- 
narily accumulate as much nitrogen as is contained 
in a ton of fertilizer, and deposits it in a state read- 
ily assimilated. The cow peas hold nitrogen in 
their roots longer than when it is spread in fertil- 
izers, a fact greatly favoring the use of green ma- 
nure. Consider their beautiful root systems, which 
offer such web-like protection against leeching, and 
their nodules break so slowly, the store is available 
over a longer period than when a definite amount 
is spread on the surface by manual applications. 
The pea roots themselves are of value, gradually 
resolving into humus, and if tops are plowed under 
the benefit is increased. So, if the cost of green 
manure is not greater than that of an equivalent 
quantity of nitrogen in commercial forms, the form- 
er should be preferred. 

Chemists tell us that an inch of rainfall contains 
about one and one-third pounds of nitrogen per 
acre. If rain came regularly each week this supply 
would meet all demands of growing trees. But, 



Roots of a Legume showing nodules where atmospheric nitrogen 
has been collected underground. 



94 



FIG CULTURE 



instead of adding to that in the soil, rain often 
causes a depletion. When several inches occur in 
one day, the soil becomes saturated, an excess drains 
away, or, standing, water-logs the land, and nitro- 
gen rapidly evaporates. Soil will store about one- 
third its weight of water. If nine inches deep, it 
will hold three inches of water. During drouths 
the moisture content of the ground may get as low 
as twelve per cent; when the proportion of water 
falls below sixteen per cent, fig trees stop growing. 
Two and one-half inches of rain will usually fill a 
nine-inch soil. If the subsoil is dry and porous it 
will absorb considerable more; otherwise the excess 
must evaporate or drain from the surface. Some- 
times rain water fills the interstices very quickly, 
and in half a day causes the furrowing and gullying 
of comparatively level land as it flows rapidly 
away ; and when heavy rains occur at frequent in- 
tervals the greater part passes off. Then rapid 
depletion of nitrogen results from its loss in drain- 
age. Underground tiles, however, are efficient to 
catch leeching fertility. Where tiles are used, and 
the ground is kept porous to their depth, nitrates 
are largely caught and held by soil particles before 
escaping. Every gentle shower is a benefit not only 
by affording moisture for mineral solutions, but by 
adding to the roots this most valuable, elusive and 
expensive element of plant food. 

What, then, should the fig grower do ? His soil 
should be deepened for feeding ground, for mois- 



FERTILITY 



ture storage, and for the accumulation of nitrogen. 
The ground should be tilled into a friable condi- 
tion, so rootlets may grow in all directions, multi- 
plying the sources of vitality. If beneficial crops 
cover the land during seasons of hardest rains, 
roots will hold leaching fertility for future use, 
while top growth will prevent furrowing and gully- 
ing by retarding surface flow. Just about the 
time slopes are worked into a finely divided condi- 
tion they often slip down into bottom lands, from 
heavy rains, and leave the subsoil more or less bare ; 
but if covered with an appreciable quantity of 
stubble from grasses, truck or grains, movement is 
checked, the woof of roots holding soil particles in 
place. Bermuda grass is the best levee protection 
our Louisiana neighbors have yet discovered. 

We must not underestimate the value of com- 
mercial fertilizers, for a time will inevitably come 
with every orchard when . the nourishment in the 
ground will be insufficient to sustain normal 
growth. The age limit of trees is largely depend- 
ent upon fertility. Transplant a short-lived one to 
fertile, moist soil, where evaporation is not ex- 
cessive, and it will respond with vigorous growth 
at an age otherwise past its prime. In the South 
commercial trees are planted from ten to twenty 
feet apart, instead of in forty and fifty foot spaces, 
as in Asia and Kabylia, the nearness with which 
they stand in this country greatly hastening the 
time when no amount of cropping for manurial 



90 



FIG CULTURE 



returns, nor soil manipulation, will supply adequate 
food; and when roots have well filled the ground 
the trees will either decline rapidly or the grower 
must make large additions of commercial and barn- 
yard manure. 

In 1907 and 1908 an experiment, was made to 
ascertain if there is a limit to practical tillage be- 
yond which results are detrimental instead of bene- 
ficial to trees. Burkett well says : ' ' The inter- 
change of acids and gases always is taking place in 
the soil, but it is more active when a disarrangement 
of soil particles has occurred. :? This familiar prin- 
ciple is the basis of tillage, and encourages us to 
stir the ground, that by such disarrangement of soil 
particles the interchange of acids and gases may 
be encouraged, and plant solutions formed more 
rapidly. Selecting a row of fig trees in all respects 
similar to those which paralleled it, the ground was 
plowed around them every week, or ten days, from 
the beginning of the growing season until the mid- 
dle of summer, when each experiment was discon- 
tinued, the results being obvious. After each plow- 
ing it was well harrowed to maintain a good earth 
mulch. The rows had a natural slope toward the 
south, adequate for drainage, and were not allowed 
to suffer for moisture. About three weeks after ex- 
cessive cultivation began the trees appeared more 
active, and this difference increased as the season 
proceeded. Fruit set as usual at the axil of each 
leaf, but the joints were longer. By the first of 



LIMIT TO CULTIVATION 



97 



June the foliage was lighter colored, the fruit did 
not show the plumpness that characterized the va- 
riety, and two weeks later it began to drop from 
the lower limbs, little remaining at gathering time 
except that which was very immature. Notwith- 
standing the increased wood growth, these trees did 
not produce so well — nor at all until very late in 
the summer, some maturing after the experiment 
ceased. There is a point in cultivation, then, be- 
yond which it is dangerous to go, and fining the 
ground too constantly causes its fertility to dete- 
riorate more rapidly. 



CHAPTER XI. 



TILLAGE OF FIG LANDS. 

Tillage began by pulling up virgin growth to 
make room for seed. The next step was the removal 
of weeds to give chosen plants more room. To- 
day we think of it as a custom, but the art is primi- 
tive with many, and only since yesterday have 
scientific principles begun to be understood. Pio- 
neers have always been adventurers; after them 
have come stockmen, then grain farmers, and lastly 
truckers and horticulturists with intensive work. 
Stockmen farm on horseback and ridicule scientific 
work; men who study soils, drainage, plant 
food, tree selection and fruit markets are very dif- 
ferent individuals. Fifty years ago those who 
practiced scientific horticulture were confined to 
the "gentlemen" class, to whom farming was a 
diversion, nor has it been long since Daniel Webster 
added materially to the art by inventing an im- 
proved plow. 

Tillage of fig orchards differs from ordinary cul- 
tural methods only in detail. There is a widespread 
impression that fig trees do not need cultivation; 
that cuttings can be put in the ground and left to 
grow a couple of years, until the owner returns for 
a harvest. "They produce abundant crops without 
any care or attention," wrote an official in a recent 



REASONS FOR TILLAGE 



99 



bulletin. That so many entertain this belief illus- 
trates the lack of knowledge of the subject, for noth- 
i ing could be farther from fact. Figs respond more 

quickly to good treatment than any other fruit 
trees, except olives, but become dwarfed and blight- 
ed by one season's neglect. With congenial sur- 
roundings, they often make six feet of growth a 
year. Considering that every pound of wood re- 
quires about five hundred pounds of moisture to 
convey vitality from root ends to branches and 
leaves, some idea can be formed of what trees need 
as to water and depth of soil. Roots often grow 
ten feet the first season, soon forming a closely in- 
terlaced mesh in every direction from the trunk. 
If soil is merely scratched on the surface an inch 
or two deep, they soon suffer, pale foliage indicat- 
ing insufficient nourishment. It is just as unreason- 
able to expect a fig tree to grow well in improper 
soil as to believe a child will develop if denied sus- 
taining food. In one case vitality is derived from 
the assimilation of organic matter containing traces 
of metalic compounds, while in the other it comes 
by digesting organic and mineral solutions. 

The student of tillage never forgets that the bet- 
ter soil is pulverized the more abundantly it gives 
up plant food. It is composed of minute particles, 
which ordinarily measure one-tenth to five-one- 
thousandths of a milimeter in diameter. "When raw 
turf is plowed the furrow slices form lumps, or 



100 



FIG CULTURE 



clods, which require repeated harrowing to wear 
down into anything like comfortable beds for culti- 
vated plants. Farm implements, aided by frost, 
rain and sunshine, work land into friable conditions 
in three or four years. At first the lumps are so 




How soil particles look un- 
der a microscope, showing 
air spaces. 




Clay soil that has "ce- 
This cut shows the par- mented" and become im- 

ticles partly run together pervious to ordinary roots 

with some air spaces left. from packing rains. It 

needs humus between the 
soil grains. 

large there is no capillarity, air circulates in the 
interstices too freely, promoting excessive dryness, 
while the clods are impenetrable to roots in search 
of food. If new soil is plowed deep, and fined with 
a disk, or harrow, it will often deceive an observer 



BREAKING PRAIRIE LAND 



101 



unless he digs below the surface, and young trees 
planted therein dry out very rapidly, the coarse 
lumps giving inadequate homes to roots. The com- 
plete loss of a setting of sixty thousand fig cuttings 
last year was due to this condition, for the harrow 
pulverized only the visible surface. 

The best initial treatment for prairie sod is to 
plow just below the grass roots in spring or sum- 
mer. Such sod will disintegrate by fall, and much 
noxious acid escape. "Where sod is plowed deep the 
first time its tendency is to sour an already acid 
soil ; it is better to burn the grass first. Sod break- 
ing should be followed by deep plowing in fall in 
time to get the benefit of winter rains and weather. 
During January the ground should be thoroughly 
harrowed, plowed a third time the following 
month, and then planted. By this treatment, if 
rainfall is normal, it can be conditioned in one 
season. Some land is so light that sod may be 
turned under deep, thus avoiding the second plow- 
ing. For satisfactory results with reclaimed 
marshes and swamp lands, the growing of some 
rank crop, such as sorghum, a year before planting 
trees, will be found almost necessary. It is not 
beneficial to harrow the ground sooner than a 
month after the second plowing, unless absolutely 
necessary for want of time, for the weather greatly 
improves raw land, and a rain or two is very bene- 
ficial to upturned turf. There are other methods 
equally as good as the above for bringing prairies 



102 



FIG CULTURE 



into cultivation, but they will not obtain results 
with less labor. 

The future of an orchard depends largely upon 
how well trees become established the first year. 
Frequent cultivation encourages growth. To help 
them start, at the beginning of the season, throw 
a couple of furrows toward each row. right up to 
the trees; the addition of warm, mellow ground 
where most needed will be rewarded. The double 
shovel is an excellent tool to use close to young 
trees, as it stirs quite deep, giving feeding ground 
for lower roots. If a root is exposed to the sun for 
half an hour in dry weather it should be pruned, as 
within that time all tips will have died. Plowing 
once a month will not injure the trees, if shallow, 
but one deep plowing in winter, followed through 
the growing season by disking, will prove satisfac- 
tory. Never turn subsoil to the surface ; use a plow 
in the bottom of the furrow, for it becomes friable 
very slowly, and. containing the excreta of former 
vegetation, is injurious unless gradually mixed with 
top soil. 

The first year a farmer will learn how fig trees 
behave, when in trouble, so as to properly minister 
to special wants. Tillage is an art that has never 
been perfected, having just reached an experi- 
mental state. Perhaps one tree needs a lump of 
lime to correct acidity; another being too high 
above the land level may require a mulch of straw. 



TILLAGE THE FIRST YEAR 



103 



or a grain sack, to protect it from wind and sun. 
Moisture is often insufficient, and, during pro- 
longed drouth conditions may be improved by scat- 
tering a few hundred pounds of salt per acre to col- 
lect vapor from the atmosphere, thus adding five 
or six per cent, to ground water. These and other 
interesting problems will perplex him, but if he 
loves to see trees grow the hours in his orchard 
will be genuine recreation, and the while he will 
be learning mysteries of Nature. 

It is a safe rule to keep work teams off fields at 
all wet times until the earth crumbles when pressed 
in the hands, and the injury to its physical condi- 
tion by trampling is avoided. Wherever an animal 
steps on wet clay an impervious lump is formed, 
the depth of which is in proportion to its weight, 
and stock, even swine, may undo the work of years 
by so packing the ground that its fertility cannot 
be restored except by several seasons of patient la- 
bor. 



CHAPTEE XII. 



THE SUBSOIL. 

In the South raw prairie usually has a shallow 
top soil. By soil we mean that layer of ground 
into which grass roots have penetrated, and by 
their decomposition little channels for air and wa- 
ter have been left, resulting in its darker color; 
humus has formed from the roots and tops of vege- 
tation, and oxidation has taken place as far as they 
have penetrated beneath the surface, thus modify- 
ing the original color and texture of the turf. 
Some of the muck lands of Southern California 
have more than twenty feet of top soil ; in the Mis- 
sissippi Delta the alluvial deposits are not shallow, 
and in many parts of Louisiana humus exists sev- 
eral feet from the surface ; but the ordinary prairie 
lands along the G-ulf often contain less than six 
inches of top soil. In the North Central States, 
where land freezes several feet deep, water pulver- 
izes it when changing to ice, the particles becoming 
finely divided by alternate cold and warm weather, 
and is pervious as deep as freezing ordinarily oc- 
curs. In the far North, however, seasons are too 
short for plants to occupy the ground as far as it 
freezes. Roots gradually enter porous soils, and, 
if supplied with sufficient moisture, they continue 
to whatever depths are found comfortable. If top 



i 




106 



FIG CULTURE 



soil is thin and barren, trees become dwarfed and 
stunted ; but when fertility extends to considerable 
distances plants make hardy growth. 

When fig raisers select thin soil for orchards, 
deeper feeding ground should be gradually devel- 
oped. There is a limit to the size of every tree, but 
normal habits should be cultivated. If they grow 
two feet of new wood each year, the farmer should 
be content, for they are not suffering for nutrition. 
"When conditions are favorable trees will grow about 
five feet the first year, and six the second. By that 
time their roots will have utilized much of the 
ground within ten feet of the trunks. The third 
year growth should exceed that of previous seasons, 
and should continue to increase so long as sufficient 
fertility is available. But it is difficult to find or- 
chards that have developed progressively after the 
first three years ; while branches continue to multi- 
ply, the rule in the coastal country is for diminished 
length of new wood. The careless manner soils are 
handled, and the evident neglect to maintain proper 
texture and physical condition, is responsible for 
the decline of trees that give every promise of vigor 
while young. It should be the first concern of the 
grower to develop a depth of soil that will aid trees 
in searching for food. An orchard near Galveston, 
famous six years ago, and advertised all over the 
country, three years later yielded but twelve pounds 
of fruit per tree, wood growth being less than four 
inches the entire season. This orchard produced 



TREATMENT OF SUBSOIL 



107 



no palatable figs at all last season, and what there 
were ripened before the middle of August. For 
five years the ground had been worked solely with 
a disk, no fertilizers being added. 

A most experienced nurseryman seriously con- 
tends that fig roots grow in three layers, the first 
being surface feeders just under ground, the second 
intermediate about six inches below, and the third 
strata about a foot further down. Trees on his 
farm do not show such systems of growth, nor is 
there any data justifying their division into layers. 
The fact is, figs form a symmetrical system of roots 
which tend downward, and their direction is only 
diverted when checked by obstacles or impervious 
clay. 

When soil is to be developed to greater depths, 
what methods should be used? The question is a 
general one, and mostly beyond the purpose of this 
work. Ordinarily it takes about three years to so 
reduce subsoil that it will contribute plant food. 
If it could be thrown repeatedly in the air it would 
tame much faster. Deep plowing will bring it to 
the top, but dangers result, as has been suggested. 
If it contains toxic acids, or noxious compounds, in 
excreta of former plants, such might seriously inter- 
fere with tree growth. Then subsoil turned to the 
surface forms hard lumps, hindering cultivation, 
promoting evaporation, and being unpleasant. A 
better method is to follow one plow with another, 



108 



FIG CULTURE 




Typical Magnolia Fig Bushes, two years old. The leaves have 
been stripped to show the fruit. The pendant fruit is ready to 
gather, and should fill a peck measure. Notice the extensive 
root systems and their development. 



SUB SOILING 



109 



going twice in each furrow, and by using a narrow- 
er one in the rear the subsoil is thrown partly out 
upon loose ground, then covered with top soil turned 
into the bottom of the furrow. It is thus grad- 
ually pulverized and aerated without being brought 
to the surface at once. A subsoil plow may be con- 
veniently used in this process. The observant 
farmer will readily find which implement acts best 
in each field, and his selection can then be intelli- 
gently made. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



TILLAGE TOOLS. 

The best investment for farming is a well select- 
ed assortment of tillage implements. Even serious 
minded persons sometimes try to keep pace with 
more thrifty neighbors without sufficient field tools. 
For a horticulturist to rely solely upon a plow and 
harrow will handicap him as greatly in his work 
as a surgeon with only a knife and needle, his effi- 
ciency being lessened as much as a carpenter's with 
simply a plane and saw. Such farmer, surgeon and 
carpenter might accomplish material results, but 
competitors using better implements would outclass 
their work. This is so self-evident that it almost 
requires explanation for the statement; and yet 
there is such need for stimulation among the rank 
and file of the profession, in the matter of equip- 
ment to meet the constantly changing difficulties 
of everyday life, that conditions justify its constant 
encouragement. He who accomplishes two or three 
times the work of his neighbor each day, through 
better preparation, is the one always showing results 
at the end of the season, his fields being properly 
tilled, while those of others languish and become 
impoverished from want of attention. Success gives 
stimulus for further labor, and a momentum of en- 
thusiasm is acquired which carries one over the 



TOOLS REQUIRED 



111 



crises of crop raising, and harvest, that come be- 
l tween rains and during droughts, when a day's la- 

bor saved may determine the result of a year's 
work. A scenic artist can not paint pictures with a 
shoe brush, be his skill never so great, nor can a 
farmer raise good crops with only a plow and har- 
row. 

THE PLOW. 

The plow is the basis of tillage. It is a remark- 
able wedge that moves underground in both hori- 
zontal and vertical planes, and, for the draft, lifts 
more dirt than any other implement. The disk is a 
close competitor, but cannot be adapted to so many 
conditions and varieties of soil as the mould board 
plow. A good one does not invert the furrow slice ; 
rather, it causes the dirt to fall on the edge of the 
slice to crumble and fine in settling. As much vir- 
gin soil should be plowed each year as one is willing 
to pulverize and fine by subsequent tillage. There 
is no virtue in turning great lumps from the sub- 
soil unless reduced to a condition usable for plants; 
otherwise they interfere with tillage, expose good 
soil to rapid evaporation, and greatly impair the 
value of the earth mulch. By all means plow fig 
orchards once during the winter, as deep as the 
soil and roots will allow, relying on surface tillage 
afterwards. 




A good plow for old land. 



StJBSOILERS 



113 



STJBSOILERS. 

If subsoil can be gradually worked to the top 
it will tame without impairing the texture of the 
earth with which it mixes. Three or four years is 
usually required for subsoil to become nutritious 
to roots. If turned at once to the top of the furrow 
the change proceeds faster, exposed to air and sun, 
but seriously retards the beneficial action of old 
ground. There are several subsoilers on the mar- 




Subsoiler. 

ket shaped like a barbed tongue curved downward, 
these being fastened to the heel of the share ; some 
scrape the bottom of the furrow, and others turn up 
a narrow groove — most of them do good work. To 
follow one plow in the same furrow with another 
of a narrower gauge is a simple and efficient method, 
elsewhere explained, as the second plow throws 



114 



FIG CULTURE 



dirt only partly toward the top of the furrow 
ridge, thus gradually mixing the new with old 
ground without exposure to the surface until later. 
Careful subsoiling will increase the depth of fertile 
ground; if done while the trees are young enough 
not to be injured by the mutilation of their roots 
it is very beneficial, literally doubling the size of 
the orchard when most needed. Five acres of land 
with a ten-inch soil will afford as much plant food 
as ten acres five inches deep. 



HARROWS. 



The simple process of time worn harrowing 
should need no comment, and yet such is the force 
of traditions and habits of thought that this work 
is usually done by boys, seldom receiving more than 
casual attention. The object is to fine the surface 
so that little particles of dirt fill the interstices. 
The surface of fresh plowed ground is very uneven, 
that exposed to evaporation measuring many times 
the area of the field. As one of the chief objects of 
tillage is to conserve moisture, unless promptly 
fined it will soon dry beyond the point at which 
plants will grow. The chief function of harrowing 
is to work clods and coarse ground into crumbly 
beds. Do not use a heavy, straight toothed beam 
harrow, but invest more money in an iron frame 
sectional one with adjustable teeth. The difference 



USE OF TOOLS 



115 



in price will be saved during one week of service. 
With adjustable teeth it can be used to tear up 
sod, crumble ordinary fresh plowed land, break new 
crusts, kill weedlets, and as a drag for leveling, all 
with greater economy of time than by the use of 
any other implement. 

But the drag harrow is not alone enough. It 
covers the orchard in a hurry, holding it in condi- 
tion after rainy spells until treated with such im- 
plements of deeper tillage as occasions require. If 
weeds have started so drag harrows will not kill 
them the acme is most efficient, working the ground 
in a number of little furrows about two inches 
deep with movements that thoroughly stir the top. 
To these add a spring toothed harrow, this going 
deeper than other kinds, and doing excellent work ; 
it is really a cultivator. After using these a few 
weeks experience will suggest requirements and 
tools to obtain desired results. 

• OTHER TOOLS. 

Every orchard should have a disk — it is indis- 
pensable. Though not going so deep as the plow 
its action is the same, tearing and fining as it goes. 
It compacts the top soil at the same time, and cre- 
ates the right depth of earth mulch, which can then 
be maintained with lighter tools. You will plant 
cover crops with it, and use it to seed the ground 



116 



FIG CULTURE 



down for the winter ; to stir a crust that has become 
too hard for harrows, and to kill noxious weeds of 
considerable size. Consider that it works the field 
five times as fast as plowing and the saving in 
time and expense is readily estimated. First cost 
is inconsequential as it will cover ten acres a day. 

One of the most valuable implements the first 
year and the second spring is a double shovel, es- 
pecially so if the ground is clay or clay loam. The 
points can be worked down as close to the trees 
as roots will permit, nearly as deep as a plow, thus 
making a friable soil where most needed. Always 
follow with a harrow, or drag, to smooth the sur- 
face. 

A roller is dangerous for a fig orchard, unless 
the soil is very light. If the ground is dry it will 
aid in maintaining capillarity, as then its pressure 
will cause moisture to rise from the contents below. 
We press our heels around the standard of a tree, 
when setting it out, to compact the newly moved 
earth and prevent drying ; and the roller may be a 
timely aid to obtain the same results. But even 
then, if efficient in compacting the soil, it will be 
an injury afterwards unless the surface mulch is at 
once restored by harrowing to destroy capillarity 
at the top. 

Unless intertilled crops are raised these tools 
should be sufficient to meet every requirement. If 
cover crops are planted in rows between the trees, 



INTER-TILLAGE TOOLS 



117 



or inter-cropping done, while the orchard is young, 
the farmer should add a one-horse V harrow, and 
a good cultivator. A weeder will also be an efficient 
aid. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



ABOUT CUTTINGS AND THE TRANSPLANT- 
ING OF TREES. 

In making fig cuttings some benefit is derived by 
severing each limb just above a bud at the top and 
just below a bud at the bottom. It, is still more 
important to make the lower cut smooth without 
injuring the bark, as is often done with a shear 
shank. When bark is wounded around the butt it 
interferes with "callusing" by the lateral wood 
processes. Cuttings should be made from well ma- 
tured stock, newer wood having less vitality, how- 
ever, most nurserymen consider it unfit if more 
than two years old. The larger the diameter of 
the cutting the more latent vitality and the greater 
its resistance to adverse weather and soil condi- 
tions. The length should be determined primarily 
by the depth of soil where it is to be planted; no 
empiric rule can be stated for determining length, 
but several illustrations may be of service. Where 
soil is in good tilth for twelve inches, or more, and 
the level of ground water is below that depth, 
cuttings can be safely made from a foot to sixteen 
inches long; butts should never reach below the 
gravitational water level. Where soil is tilled shal- 
low they should be made relatively short ; there be- 
ing no benefit from inserting them into subsoil. If 



i 




A Fig Cutting properly placed in the ground. In Smyrna the 
natives cover the top about a half-inch deep with dry earth. 



120 



FIG CULTURE 



top soil is coarse and open, with a loamy strata un- 
derneath, cut-tings should be long enough to reach 
through the rough surface into better earth below. 

There is no virtue in exposing any part above 
ground, as tops dry in a few days ; in Smyrna they 
are buried. Soil should be loose enough for labor- 
ers with gloves to press them down without injury 




a b c d 



Upper ends of cuttings as often made, a correct, &, c, d incorrect. 

into the surface strata until the tips are just visible 
to a person standing by. In such case each top 
bud, and usually the second one, will sprout an up- 
ward growth. Under very favorable conditions 
cuttings extending above ground even a foot or 
more will sprout .at all exposed buds ; but as a rule 



CUTTINGS 



121 



they die, for the proportion of leaf area to roots is 
disarranged, it then being difficult to get food from 
below sufficient for the large evaporative surface of 
leaves. More cuttings are lost when thus treated 
than if better opportunity is given for stronger in- 
itial root growth. Comparatively few cuttings die 
without sprouting, and many small dry leaves on 
long tops of the dead indicate that insufficient nour- 
ishment, from lack of roots, failed to supply the 
demands of large tops, there being ample vitality in 
the wood. If the earth is tilled only three or four 
inches deep cuttings of that length will do very 
well. Roots will sprout through the bark at the 
lower ends, as well as at the butts, their growth 
ordinarily being normal. 

Fig limbs grow well and make good trees when 
entirely covered up in furrows. The objections to 
this method of propagation are that roots tend to 
lateral development instead of going downward, re- 
sulting in an awkward looking tree that is not com- 
mercial as nursery stock; and, being connected in 
trenches each top is firmly attached to many others, 
and are difficult to transplant. 

The best root systems develop from single buds. 
This is done by planting cuttings, each containing 
one bud, about an inch below the surface. The 
roots tend downward more noticeably than by any 
other treatment, and develop with attractive sym- 
metry. Such cuttings require protection from ex-: 



CUTTINGS 



123 



cessive evaporation by glass until well established, 
and the first year 's growth is considerably less than 
if more wood is used. 

After sprouting cuttings can be stimulated by 
repeated cultivations, and they respond best when 
the earth is stirred every ten days. If the ground 



Axil where 




Terminal Bud Cutting. 



is inclined to be acid a ridge should be carefully 
made along each row by plowing toward the trees 
a couple of times without raising the crowns above 
the land level ; if crowns form too high it will cause 
much trouble in after years. 

Cuttings will grow from two to eight feet the 
first year. Experienced buyers prefer average sized 
stock, as larger trees tend to make wood instead of 



SYSTEMS OF PLANTING, 



SQUARES 



HEXAGONS 



9 * * ® • # # # # # # # * 

QUINCUNX 



® PERMANENT TREES. • TEMPORARY TREES- 

Diagram showing three systems of orchard formation, the 
hexagonal being often preferred, as more trees can be planted per 
acre the same distances apart. 



REVIVING DRY WOOD 



125 



fruit. Great care should be taken in transplanting 
from nurseries, the roots being very sensitive to air, 
and when once dried cannot be revived. Cuttings 
will endure considerable neglect and by placing 
them alternately in water for twelve hours and then 
airing them in the shade the same length of time, 
they can be carried over a considerable period, and 
even revived when apparently dead. But dried 
roots will not become lively by any treatment, and 
should be pruned off. The test for roots, as well 
as for cuttings — in case of drying, frost, or other 
injury — is to cut quickly through the tissue with a 
sharp knife and watch the sap appear in the pores 
of the wood; if it flows freely, milky w T hite, the 
wood is alive ; if it comes slowly and is thin and wa- 
tery, the wood should be cut back farther, or if a 
cutting, its further revival by immersion and aera- 
tion should be continued. 



CHAPTER XV. 



PRUNING FIG TREES. 

About a century ago Thomas Andrew Knight, 
the highest authority of that time, wrote in Horti- 
cultural Transactions that pinching terminal buds 
of fig trees stopped the elongation of branches and 
repulsed the sap to be used where it would improve 
fruit; that by bending sterile branches downward, 
and fastening them with considerable strain wood 
growth was checked, and they were rendered more 
fruitful. In 1839, Lindley described a system of 
removing two-thirds of the new wood each year, by 
which treatment, said he, "the fig tree has been 
rendered more fruitful than by any other method. ' ' 
Of fruit pruning, said the same writer: "If the 
late figs which never ripen, are abstracted, the early 
figs the next year are more numerous and larger." 

The persuasiveness of these authors should cause 
experiments to be made along this line by every 
grower. The facts they teach, described by all 
modern botanists, result from prevalent opinions 
that anything which checks growth of top wood, 
or fruit, causes the vitality of the tree to be stored 
within the tissues, unless immature fruit exists, in 
which case it is concentrated in enlarging what re- 
mains on the tree. Fig growers around Paris regu- 
larly prune terminal buds, and remove some of the 




The cut shows how latteral branches form when terminal 
buds are pinched. 



128 



FIG CULTURE 



side branches, which soon sprout near the ends, 
those left being promptly checked in order to divert 
growth from wood to fruit. 

These considerations caused experiments to be 
made in the South to test the effect of destroying 
terminal buds. In the experiments trees were treat- 
ed in groups, one group having all terminals re- 
moved early in the season, a second group a little 
later, and so on until ten comparative plats were 
formed. By the side of each plat trees grew natur- 
ally. All pruned plats gave negative results; for, 
without exception, the treated trees yielded less 
than untreated ones ; lateral branchlets developed on 
about ten inches of the stems, and no increase of 
wood or fruit could be seen below that distance; 
while those few inches where branchlets grew devel- 
oped no figs, although having time to mature. Per- 
haps, by pinching the terminals of each lateral 
branchlet the sap could have been turned further 
back. This, however, is doubted; for a fig matures 
more quickly close to the leaf than upon a bare 
limb, the leaf having attraction for sap of which 
fruit derives benefit; and as each leaf always falls 
before the fruit at its axil is ripe, so much reduc- 
tion of leaf area by terminal and lateral pruning 
should result in checking the growth of each entire 
branch ; field observations confirm this conclusion. 

Corbett thus summarizes the objects of pruning 
in general: "The gardener, therefore, has as rea- 



PRINCIPLES OF PRUNING 



129 



sons for pruning trees, the removal of dead, dying 
or broken branches, the reduction of the annual 
growth for the purpose of correcting the habit of 
the plant, the removal of branches m order to pre- 
vent the breaking or disfigurement of the tree in 
later years, the removal of branches and f ruit spurs 
for protection against infectious diseases, and the 
reduction of the annual growth in order to reduce 
the crop in proportion to the capacity of the tree." 
(U. S. Bull. 181.) 

The cardinal object of pruning fig trees is to en- 
courage as great a growth of fruit bearing wood as 
is possible up to the middle of July, each season. 
Fruit set upon such wood has time to ripen before 
frost. The usual habit is to set fruit not upon 
year old spurs, as the peach and plum set 
fruit, but upon new wood like most grapevines. 
This object can best be obtained with the Magnolia 
fig by severely pruning the top each winter. If 
pruning is done for the greatest benefit to the tree 
it should begin about the twentieth of February, 
and be completed by the fourth of March. If pri- 
marily to obtain good cuttings, it should be in the 
fall, to give time for the " callous" of latteral fiber 
at the butt of each. Great deterioration of trees 
usually results from early pruning, wounds being 
seldom protected, the wood dries very rapidly from 
each cut, often losing life twelve to eighteen inches 
down the branches. Sometimes whole orchards 
have been pronounced fatally frosted by mistaking 



This limb was pruned in the fall, and about two feet of wood 
died from evaporation during winter, while the 
whole branch was weakened by the 
loss of sap. 



TIME TO PRUNE 



131 



the cause of a weakened condition of the trees from 
l early pruning. However, if done in the fall, and 

each wound is protected from evaporation by paint, 
or other impervious substance, the top should come 
out stronger in spring than when pruned late, for 
in that event the roots, which are never dormant, 
will have concentrated their winter's work in less 
wood than when all tops remain until just before 
spring. 



132 



FIG CULTURE 





c 



CHAPTER XVI. 
CONSERVATION OF SOIL MOISTURE. 

Fig trees are peculiarly susceptible to variations 
of moisture, an inadequate supply affecting their 
growth very quickly, while they respond to the 
addition of normal quantities of water and recuper- 
ate from drought quite readily. Trees that receive 
no tillage often drop both leaves and fruit at least 
once every summer, unless rain is frequent, and it 
is not rare to find them dormant as many as four 
times in one season. Their nature is to make rapid 
growth, and the cellular tissue being coarse and 
soft sap moves quickly, if given sufficient water, 
making at least ten times the weight of wood that 
the peach, pear or plum does in the same length of 
time. Each pound of fiber requires about five hun- 
dred pounds of water as a medium of transmission. 
Water is the solvent of plant food in the soil and 
the conveyer of that solution to different parts of 
the trees, where, in new chemical combinations, it 
changes to protoplasm, fiber, fruit or oil. Air and 
sun extract it through the bark in containing evap- 
oration while leaves exhale it from every point in 
remarkable quantities. So important is the func- 
tion of water that its conservation is one of the 
primary objects of tillage. 

Illustrations of water movement in plants are 



EVAPORATION FROM LEAVES 



135 



made by pot experiments. It is impossible to weigh 
a growing fig tree several times a day, to ascertain 
its water content, but by placing some such plant as 
a sunflower in a pot and protecting the soil from 
evaporation and rainfall, a measured quantity of 
water can be given it daily and that expired 
through leaves is thus ascertainable. A single sun- 
flower stalk with eight leaves was found to lose one 
pound and fourteen ounces during a warm dry day, 
one pound and four ounces during another day 
not so warm, three ounces in a night without dew, 
while it absorbed four ounces of moisture during a 
foggy night. It is probable that a common fig bush 
will transpire no less than a half gallon of water 
a day during warm growing weather. 

In arid regions, such as Arizona, New Mexico 
and Nevada, the first step in cultivation is to create 
an adequate storehouse to hold the scant rainfall 
in the ground, and by improving the texture of the 
soil with humus and deep tillage to make the winter 
precipitation available during the long dry sum- 
mers when plants draw capillary water toward the 
surface for their use. 

The following table pictorially represents the im- 
portance of humus as a means of retaining moisture 
in the soil: 



Kind of soil 

Sand 

Clay loam . 
Humus P , . 



Pounds Pounds 
of moisture, of dry soil. 



19.60 100 
32.40 100 
114.60 100 



136 



FIG CULTURE 



This estimate was based upon weights after a 
good rain, and very clearly shows one of the chief 
functions of humus. Humus is even more essen- 
tial in light soil than with clay, or silt lands, for, 
while in the latter case it percolates more rapidly 
by the addition of humus, in the former instance 
the moisture retention is poor and it becomes 
necessary as a means to avoid the rapid fluctua- 
tions that follow changes of weather; without 
humus our sandy loams fail to respond reliably 
to tillage, and change beyond all control in their 
plant producing power. With a million root 
hairs on every tree straining the moisture into 
its circulatory system the water content is soon 
reduced, and when it becomes less than twelve 
per cent fig trees are unable to grow. If the 
soil is entirely filled with water it is non-pro- 
ductive, and as, ordinarily tw T enty-five per cent is 
the maximum quantity of water it will retain, un- 
less organic matter exists in considerable propor- 
tion, there is only a margin between twelve and 
twenty-five per cent when cultivated trees will 
grow. 

A convenient division of soil water is sometimes 
made by calling that which passes downward in 
drainage gravitational, being moved by gravity; 
that remaining in the interstices capillary water, 
as it moves up and down and somewhat laterally 
wherever capilarity exists; and those tiny films 



SOIL WATER 



137 



which tenaciously adhere to soil particles refusing to 
be pressed or dried therefrom are called hygroscopic 
water. This distinction aids in conceiving the func- 
tions of tillage, for gravitational water is injurious 
to all fruit trees, and unless removed by drainage 
will surely "water-log" the land; hygroscopic wa- 
ter is an inconsequential quantity too small to be 
material, cultivated plants being entirely depend- 
ent upon capillary water for growth. 

The power of a substance to absorb by capillarity 
is seen by placing one end of a soft cloth, or blotter, 
in liquid, the whole material soon becoming satur- 
ated ; in soil this quality is most plain when brick, 
or partially decayed wood, is buried, for moisture 
continues therein long after the surrounding soil 
has thoroughly dried. If spaces between soil parti- 
cles are too large, as in coarse sand or gravel, capil- 
larity is impaired, for water cannot remain sus- 
pended between such particles by their attractive 
action ; while if clay is so packed that the spaces 
are closed, which ordinarily exist between the min- 
ute particles, water percolates slowly by reason of 
its impervious nature, and not from inability to at- 
tract by capillarity. 

When the moisture content exceeds the capillary 
capacity of the soil, the whole quantity becomes 
gravitational, and is not in condition to maintain 
plant life until the excess passes off. Our scientific 
investigations have not shown if this result is due 



138 FIG CULTURE 

to the dilution of soil solutions until too thin to sus- 
tain life, or if from want of aeration, or whether 
plant stagnation takes place at this point by reason 
of noxious denitrifying bacteria, there being con- 



The cut illustrates how particles of sand (magnified) can be so 
mixed with humus that otherwise sterile soil is built up into a 
fertile condition. In this way organic matter becomes useful to 
conserve moisture and prevent too much circulation of air. 



flicting theories about the causes. But we all know 
that orchard trees will soon die if gravitational wa- 
ter envelopes their roots. Then the problem of 
drainage is primarily to provide an outlet for gravi- 
tational water, as well as to enlarge the capacity of 



THE BEST SOIL 



139 



the soil to hold capillary water — that important 
quantity which should be conserved by all reason- 
able means. 

It must not be doubted that for sub-drainage 
purposes humus is essential in heavy soils. The fol- 
lowing table is compiled to graphically illustrate 
this truth : 

Kind of soil. Water percolation in 12 hours. 
Clay 1.10 inches 



Clay loam is admittedly the best soil for fig trees, 
but it should receive liberal additions of humus 
from cover crops, or manures. Compared with oth- 
er soil matter humus absorbs water like a sponge, 
moisture soaking" from fiber to fiber, part to part 
until all is rapidly filled. The above table states 
facts about capillary water- gravitational water 
passes through sand in a short time. A combination 
of clay and humus has those qualities which distin- 
guish it as an absorbent and the best texture for 
moisture retention. 

But if there is a high content of humus, moisture 
passes off the surface more rapidly, for the same 
reason that it percolates so quickly. Its percola- 



Silt . . . 
Sand . 
Humus 



16.82 inches 
118.91 inches 
193.40 inches 



140 



FIG CULTURE 



tion is due to capillarity, not to gravity, and that 
movement is most active in earth containing much 
organic matter; notice how much faster a sponge 
dries than substances of closer texture. Capillarity 
is that power which lifts water from part to part 
in a natural effort to maintain a pressure equilibri- 
um, and as the surface dries the supply rises read- 
ily from below. This process is continually going 
on underground; as fig roots drink that close by, 
removing it to branches, the quantity around them 
is constantly reduced, and the rapidity of their 
growth is dependent upon prompt renewals by 
spongy organic matter. If soil is impervious — as 
most new prairie ground — the supply is recuper- 
ated slowly and all movements of tree life are pro- 
portionately deliberate. In making fifty pounds 
of wood ten tons of water is consumed and expired 
by the leaves. If gravitational water percolates 
through clay at the rate of one foot a week, how 
much more slowly must capillarity act in bringing 
a supply to root ends when the only impelling force 
is the change of underground pressure caused by 
absorptions through the membranes of microscopic 
root tips. Add humus to clay soil and it is made 
spongy and increases the activity of every, plant 
produced. Alone, clay is difficult to work into a 
pulverized top layer, but with organic matter 
abundant, it makes the best surface mulch, readily 
transmitting moisture from above and satisfactorily 
conserving that below. 



SOIL BUILDING 



141 



The most efficient method of building up the 
storage capacity of the soil is to drain it from be- 
neath. All other material for that purpose has 
given way to tiles, that being the cheapest and most 
.efficient. Sub-drainage will lower the level of 
gravitational water to the bottom of the tile bed, 
the depth of capillary water increasing the same 
distance. If soil is "water-logged" eight inches be- 
low the surface there can be neither aeration, nitri- 
fication nor ordinary root growth below that point, 
vegetation penetrating such subsoil with great diffi- 
culty. By putting tiles two feet underground the 
water table descends to that depth, giving three 
times as much — three times the ground in the farm. 

After drainage the most practical and efficient 
aid in soil building is growing leguminous crops. 
Even among established trees they condition sub- 
soil cheaply, for nitrogen gathered by legumes from 
atmosphere is deposited below the strata of ordi- 
nary fertility where most needed; and after the 
legumes die each rootlet readily decays, leaving a 
porous thread for water and air to continually cir- 
culate downward. The most beneficial rains come 
in show x ers during growing seasons, and such de- 
cayed roots provide organic matter to retain much 
moisture where it falls. 

Mulching is receiving unusual attention at the 
present time, and is described in another chapter; 
it promises at no distant day to modify some of 



142 



FIG CULTURE 



our most fixed methods of horticulture. Whether 
this means of conserving moisture and supplying 
nitrogen will be available to fig growers is problem- 
atical; at least there are serious obstacles to its 
use, for, under a mulch, the trees have such a tend- 
ency to develop shallow roots, at the expense of 
deeper growth, that nematodes ravaging near the 
surface, where ground does not freeze, so greatly in- 
jure them that a general application of mulching 
should not be attempted until experiments have 
demonstrated its value in each locality. Young trees 
should certainly receive no mulches until their low- 
er roots are considerably developed. But realizing 
the remarkable stimulation that is given almost 
every plant by shading the ground, thus improving 
both the quantity and quality of fruit, this work 
should continue in the expectation of finding some 
practical way for its beneficial application to these 
trees. 



CHAPTER XVII. 
WIND-BREAKS. 

Bailey describes four harmful results and thir- 
teen benefits from wind-breaks. A careful orehard- 
ist often shelters his trees by protection that avoids 
injury without losing the advantages. Adam says 
the best wind-break is another row of trees. An 
orchard of several hundred acres needs none : 1 ' The 
outside row acts as wind-breaks." Tall growing 
varieties of fig trees are sometimes selected as wind- 
breaks for other vegetation. 

If a farmer will have one, let it be a kind that in- 
terferes the least with atmospheric drainage, and 
that will not be a breeding place for noxious insects 
and harmful fungi. Some contend that wind- 
breaks should entirely surround orchards in order 
to lessen the effect of breezes that enervate trees by 
alternately bending and releasing the limbs from 
atmospheric pressure, their vitality being expended 
in the effort to recover upright positions. But 
theories of this kind will not be discussed, as it 
would extend our work beyond the scope of a field 
manual into less substantial considerations. 

Among writers the prevailing opinion is certainly 
in their favor. Of Bailey's thirteen benefits but 
three apply to fig growing: "1. A wind-break 
may protect from cold. 2. Reduces evaporation 



WIND-BREAKS 



145 



from the surface of the soil, tending to mitigate 
drought in summer and root injury in winter. * * * 
13. It can be made an ornament. ?? To these three 
a fourth may be added : A good wind-break along 
the east, side of the orchard modifies the warm rays 
of morning sunshine, allowing a frosted tree to 
thaw slowly and avoids checking and splitting of 
bark that follows when the sun shines directly upon 
injured parts. 

As protection from cold, a wind-break has doubt- 
ful utility, its value being only during freezes, as 
distinguished from frosts. In frosty weather the 
effect is to lower temperature around it by holding 
cold surface air in check. The fig not being grown 
in latitudes where there is extreme cold, during 
wind storms it is not beneficial. Where raised on a 
commercial scale injurious freezes are infrequent; 
there having been but seven, since 1860, along the 
Gulf Coast. When the infrequency of cold weath- 
er is considered, although they retard falling tem- 
peratures a few degrees, it should be remembered 
how detrimental they may become as harbors for 
insect pests, and fungi, and the habit of the trees in 
making sizable new wood to which the fruit is di- 
rectly attached, abbreviates their principal general 
use. Limbs a month old are often three-eighths of 
an inch in diameter, and well able to sustain 
foliage and crop. There are no fruit spurs, for each 
fig is attached to a limb at the axil of a leaf. If 
not too ripe for preserving no wind will whip it off 




A Wind-Break Needed. 



WIND-BREAKS 



147 



without destroying the top, and only a very severe 
storm will cause any fruit to fall. The season of 
high winds does no damage, as there is nothing on 
the trees. 

Evaporation may be considerably checked by a 
good wind-break. In the Southern fig belt this is 
of little consequence, for the prevailing breeze is 
laden with moisture. But winter winds are pecu- 
liarly drying — a pond evaporating more in one day 
during a clear norther than in a week of quiet sun- 
shine. How often has a new fig orchard died to the 
ground, supposedly from frost, or the shock of 
pruning, when it was merely the result of wood 
evaporation during the interval between early 
pruning and spring growth. Even uncut limbs 
lose vitality in winter very largely from evapora- 
tion through the bark, especially if the stored 
strength of the top is reduced by intermittent warm 
spells of incipient growth. To so handle an orchard 
that the trees will not thus waste their vigor re- 
quires a thorough knowledge not only of wind- 
breaks, but of the essential principles of horticul- 
ture, and botany, and clear discretion in field work. 

The most desirable wind-breaks vary in different 
places with their uses. The Californian protects 
his orange grove with eucalyptus trees from fifteen 
to seventy feet in height, or with cypress hedges 
that grow thirty feet and have as great a spread. 
In Manitoba, and the Northwest, wheat is sheltered 



EXPERIMENT WITH WIND-BREAK 



149 



by low artemesia hedges. In New England stones 
are piled in walls along boundary lines, forming the 
farm fences as well as efficient wind-breaks. In 
parts of the Central States the Siberian poplar is in 
favor for that purpose. Near the Gulf of Mexico 
trifoliata orange hedges about fifteen feet high give 
ideal protection. 

Our academical abstractions about the scientific 
value of wind-breaks sometimes receive rude shocks 
from the irresistible logic of facts. An instance 
of this kind occurred during the freezes of 1909. 
At a certain place the following observations were 
taken : Before daylight on January 11 of that year 
the temperature was about 73 deg. F. : at 3 p. m. the 
same day it was 34 deer. ; at 7 p. m. 30 deg. : at 2 a. 
m. on the morning of January 12. it stood 22 dee:., 
from which time, rising very slowly, it passed the 
freezing point about 8 o'clock a. m. January 13. 
Now what effect did this wave have upon protected 
and unprotected trees ? The treatment they should 
receive to shelter them from cold belongs to another 
chapter : so. also, their subsequent care when in- 
jured. But the question is : Did wind protection 
lessen danger? As usual this freeze was accom- 
panied by a stiff breeze from the northwest. Within 
a radius of a few miles there were four orchards of 
some size at each of which the foregoing tempera- 
tures were recorded, three of them being exposed 
while the fourth was well sheltered by a wind- 
break. The following sketch will indicate the rela- 
tive location of each orchard : 



1 



OfiCHAIfD 



3 /V 



it 



12 



IK 



ft' 



ORCH 





















111 





N 

A 



w- 



4& 



IV 



EXPERIMENT WITH WIND-BREAK 



151 



Orchards I. Ill and IV were upon open prairie 
with no more obstruction to windward than the 
barbed wire fencing which surrounded each. Orch- 
ard II was enclosed on the north and west by a 
dense growth of pines, and hardwood trees, many 
of which were thirty feet high, with an impenetra- 
ble undergrowth of bushes and vines — an ideal 
wind-break, for the fig trees extended only ten rows 
wide in a strip along this young forest. All four 
orchards were in good tilth. But did the wind- 
break justify expectations? Not here. Did the 
sheltered trees get immunity ? Not at all ; to the 
contrary those which nestled so safely in the lee 
of the forest were frozen back from four to eight 
feet, some trees having to be cut to the ground. The 
one four miles south called Orchard III was blight- 
ed to a less extent, while Orchards I and IV entire- 
ly escaped injury. 

So the wind-break, evidently, did not mitigate the 
damage; but this fact does not argue against them 
generally, for other stronger influences caused the 
sheltered trees to be the greatest storm sufferers, 
their susceptibility accounting for results rather 
than the exposure. Orchard II had light soil; the 
sandy, dry ground absorbed considerable heat dur- 
ing the preceding week, and it had radiated and re- 
flected warmth about the tree tops. This mild at- 
mosphere had started the sap, the leaf buds were all 
swollen, some were opening, thus being wholly out 



152 



FIG CULTURE 



of winter condition, and peculiarly exposed to the 
ravages of the storm. Trees in the third orchard 
were active though not so far advanced as in 
Orchard II, but sufficiently to account for their 
lack of subsequent recuperation. The other two 
orchards were practically dormant; the clay loams 
of each, being moist, respond€d more slowly to 
the warmth of the sun, and radiated very little 
heat, while refraction was reduced. It would be a 
strain upon the imagination to think that an en- 
velope of warm air is ever created over clay soil 
for more than a few hours at a time during the win- 
ter season, and without heat there is nothing to in- 
duce buds to swell. Botanists tell us that the initial 
growth of a cutting, as well as a tree, is always from 
the action of heat upon starch cells stored in the 
top branches — not from root activity — and this 
tendency to sprout appears at any time during win- 
ter, or spring, when the enveloping air is contin- 
ually heated to a degree comfortable and inviting 
to the plant. 

A month after the freeze just referred to a second 
one occurred in the same locality, the temperature 
falling to 21 deg. F. This time Orchards II and III 
were active again, and the entire top growth was 
ruined. Orchard I was just about to start, leaf 
buds being swollen, and wood less than two years 
old was injured. Orchard IV, though but a year 
from the nursery, was uninjured; between the two 



TWO FROZEN ORCHARDS 



153 



freezes it had been transplanted into a new ground 
formation, keeping the trees entirely dormant. 
Therefore, the activity of sap as affected by soil, 
moisture and temperature is potent in inviting their 
destruction, and becomes more important than 
hedge protection as a practical problem upon the 
farm. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



ATMOSPHERIC DRAINAGE. 

In the flat coast country atmospheric drainage is 
of very little importance. Generally its effect is 
two-fold: cold currents are deflected from higher 
ground, but, being held in the locality of the ob- 
stacles placed for their hindrance create a lower 
temperature around them. Where there is suffi- 
cient slope to allow currents, which hug the earth, 
to drain off on lower lands, a white frost is often 
entirely avoided; but wind-breaks, though mitigat- 
ing the seriousness of freezes, so hinder surface 
air during still nights that the lowest temperatures 
are found in their lee just where we ordinarily ex- 
pect the most protection. Night currents keep close 
to the ground, moving independent of wind pres- 
sure, and, being cold, seek the lowest places. Their 
movement is often two to six miles per hour, not- 
withstanding the air appears practically still. In- 
struments designed for measuring this motion indi- 
cate its existence practically all the time. No ade- 
quate idea of the importance of these movements 
can be realized without keeping in mind that at- 
mosphere is a very poor conductor of heat ; were it 
not that heat sets air rapidly in motion it would be 
the only substance used for insulating all cold 
storages. Discolor a current and watch while its 



FROST 



155 



temperature is taken at different places and in- 
< teresting illustrations can be seen of its activity and 
temperature. Who has not noticed that along the 
slopes of foot-hills there is an interval of ground 
immune from spring frosts which create havoc on 
higher altitudes, as well as in the valleys ; and in 
riding over country we invariably notice chilly air 
in the depressions. 

If a fig farm slopes naturally to lower ground a 
prevention of atmospheric drainage would be in- 
jurious unless placed upon the highest boundary 
ridge to deflect colder air from the outside; even 
then it would probably encourage frosts instead of 
mitigating them. If an orchard is in a depression 
from all sides the more it is protected the better, 
for, in such cases, cold air accumulates around the 
trees during every still night. Such causes frost- 
ing of tender limbs whenever the atmosphere falls 
within two degrees of freezing, for evaporation 
goes on so rapidly from the surface of new leaves 
that its process reduces temperature at least two de- 
grees lower than the surrounding air, this being a 
potent reason why new growths are most susceptible 
of injury. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



MULCHING. 

Among horticulturists there is a decided tend- 
ency toward liberal mulching of orchard trees usu- 
ally in connection with cover cropping. The theory 
of mulching is generally misunderstood, and many 
who try this method of tillage often fail to apply it 
with sufficient care for tests to be fair, or success- 
ful. It has been employed satisfactorily in Ohio 
since 1879, and apple growers in New York have 
adopted it for more than thirty years with excellent 
results. Throughout the Southwest Stringfellow 
has been its herald. At the experiment station in 
Oklahoma remarkable increases in crops have thus 
been made; the Georgia, Nebraska and "Wisconsin 
stations endorse the practice; at Geneva the State 
station has been conducting the most elaborate 
comparative tests in order to definitely elucidate re- 
sults in detail, and the Ontario station commends it 
to Canadian farmers. It is an application of one 
of nature's methods of conserving moisture, build- 
ing soil and promoting decomposition of organic 
matter ; for do not forest leaves and blighted grasses 
furnish virgin soil its principal source of recupera- 
tion? "Who has not noticed the marshy character 
of grass lands in winter while cultivated ground 
alongside has been dry? Green and Ballou state in 



The Forest floor is a perfect mulch of leaves and twigs, replen- 
ished from above each season as the under layers decay. 



158 



FIG CULTURE 



a bulletin of the Ohio station the leading ideas in 
its use: " There should be a clear conception in 
the mind of anyone who thinks of attempting the 
grass mulch method, as to what it means, for failure 
is likely to result if it is not properly carried out. 
It does not mean the turning of an orchard out to 
grass, and allowing the trees to struggle with all 
sorts of adverse conditions. It is not a slipshod 
nor a lazy man's method. It has not been invented 
in order to save work. It does mean storing up of 
humus while the orchard is young, or possibly be- 
fore it was planted, for its use in old age, like the 
setting aside of a reserve fund to be drawn upon as 
needed. " 

"The notion that the soil of an orchard can be 
clean cultivated for a number of years until the 
vegetable matter is nearly all destroyed, and that 
it may then be restored in sufficient quantities, by 
growing cover crops, is a wrong conception." "For 
there must come a time when it will be impossible 
to grow sufficient crops under the wide spreading 
branches to keep up a supply of the much needed 
humus." The mulching plan "insures the greatest 
possible quantity of humus during the entire life 
of the orchard. Theoretically a soil thus filled with 
vegetable fiber ought to contain plant food in 
abundance and to have a water holding capacity 
sufficient to supply the needs of the trees at all 
times." "Mulches promote the formation of ni- 
trates, and the healthy appearance and long reten- 



GRASS MULCHING 



159 



tion of the foliage in autumn of grass mulched 
trees, indicates a sufficient supply of nitrogen. 
Doubtless, however, it is the uniform and abundant 
supply of moisture which counts for more than 
anything else." 

"The first effect of a heavy rain is the conserva- 
tion of moisture by the prevention of evaporation 
of water from the soil of the area mulched. The 
surface of the soil is kept comparatively moist and 
the rapid decay of the vegetable matter, which lies 
in contact with this surface soil, not only provides 
accumulating humus and plant food, but the chemi- 
cal and bacterial action in the soil beneath, favored 
by the soil covering, and its decomposition results 
in the liberation of mineral elements of plant food 
and the formation of nitrates that otherwise would 
not occur, or would be so slow as to be of much less 
immediate benefit to the growing trees." 

Orchards are usually mulched by mowing grass, 
which is allowed to grow between the trees, and pil- 
ing it about six inches deep around each for a 
radius of several feet, replenishing it about three 
or four times each season. It is not efficient if less 
than six inches deep, and eight inches is better. 
The mulch is sometimes hauled from other lands 
and similarly placed about the trees. It smothers 
all vegetation underneath, furnishing such favor- 
able feeding ground for tree roots that they develop 
into clustered masses, even entering the lower 



MULCHING 



161 



layers of grass. The station demonstrations show 
that when applied to apples, plums, cherries, grapes 
and pears the yield of fruit is not only increased 
but its quality is improved, the size of each speci- 
men is enlarged and the growth of wood and leaf 
is stronger. Experiments are in progress with other 
fruits, and no reason is anticipated why it should 
not be beneficial for fig trees; for most domestic 
trees have their roots partly protected by build- 
ings, and are indifferently mulched with yard litter, 
both top growth and crops exceeding that in tilled 
fields. It has been objected that mulching causes 
a greater development of surface roots where nema- 
todes easily attack them. This is true, being the 
principal objection, aside from the danger of fire 
in a completely mulched orchard; but, as yard 
trees yield large crops notwithstanding their roots 
are usually completely infested with the eelworms, 
it must be that mulching, even carelessly, encour- 
ages growth to the extent of overbalancing the dam- 
age of these parasites. 



CHAPTER XX. 



COVER CROPS. 

The improvement of orchard soils with cover 
crops is one of the most important operations of 
fruit growing. This is the practice of raising 
grains, grasses, legumes and garden truck between 
trees with the primary object of improving the con- 
dition of the soil rather than for direct profit. In 
the Rocky Mountain States it is done, says the di- 
rector at Fort Collins, as well to protect the ground 
from injury by direct sunlight as to add nitrogen to 
the soil. Throughout the North Central States the 
practice is quite thoroughly established, cultivating 
the ground until midsummer, and then growing le- 
gumes until frost, as they make a mat during winter 
and add much humus material when plowed under 
in spring. Every experiment station in these States 
has adopted this as a cardinal method for main- 
taining soil in good texture, and there is not a dis- 
senting opinion in the New England stations as to 
its beneficial effects. Winter cropping has become 
quite general among the fruit growers of the Pa- 
cific Coast where clean cultivation usually con- 
tinues until frost, and then a winter growth — usu- 
ally a vetch or field peas — is planted until spring 
and plowed under. In the South cover crops are 
steadily gaining favor, for orchards continually 



Erosions from heavy rains, the fertility having been washed away 
to bottom lands ; easily prevented by the use 
of cover crops. 



164 



FIG CULTURE 



increase their consumption of plant food while the 
natural supply gradually diminishes as tops spread 
and roots occupy more and more layers of surface 
soil. The cost of seed is inconsequential, compared 
with tilling fields every ten days when cultivated 
clean, and it is probable that methods will gradually 
be perfected for use in connection with mulching, 
materially reducing field expenses. Fig trees ordi- 
narily require such constant tillage to obtain profit- 
able crops that treatment lessening such work with- 
out impairing results will greatly stimluate the in- 
dustry. Mulching liberates plant food in the soil 
as readily as by clean cultivation, being less ex- 
pensive, and supplies large quantities of organic 
matter ; and can be satisfactorily restored with cov- 
er crops as it decomposes. 

Although cover cropping for soil improvement 
was practiced in Ohio as early as 1879, probably the 
first methodical tests were made about twenty years 
ago among apple orchards of Central New York. 
Since that time it has been used wherever fruit 
growing has received careful study, having found 
favor for the following reasons :• (1) Soil is reno- 
vated by growing some other plant than it usually 
produces; (2) it furnishes humus most economical- 
ly; (3) if legumes are used soil nitrogen is in- 
creased; (4) the ground becomes friable and more 
comfortable for root growth. Other reasons could 
be stated until the list would be a long one, but 
with these four general results in mind different ad- 




In Nature's Laboratory. Virgin growth is protected by a dense 
cover crop shoulder high, which replenishes 
a mulch often two feet deep. 



166 



FIG CULTURE 



vantages suggest themselves. It is as essential to 
maintain friable, moisture-holding, humus-forming 
texture as to plant healthy trees, these considera- 
tions applying in fig culture with peculiar force. 

There are dangers from cover cropping, such as 
the consumption of moisture and plant food at times 
when needed by the trees ; but these are avoided, in 
cool climates, by planting in the late summer and 
fall, and, in the South, during the fall and winter. 
Thus trees are furnished all the moisture <md 
fertility of the land during the season of strong 
growth while the late crops restore that which has 
been consumed in time for the next season's use. 
This system is an adoption of Dame Nature's meth- 
ods. Were it not for the fertility from decaying 
grasses and leaves deep rooted vegetation would not 
only find sterile ground for falling seeds, but the 
chief source of its own vitality would be lacking, 
all virgin growth rapidly disappearing. Cover 
cropping is an improvement of natural methods 
which sustain plant life in the wild, and, having 
prevailed since the beginning of floral growth, it 
has been the largest factor in a slow evolution of un- 
cultivated vegetable species. 

It is difficult to find sound objections to the use 
of cover crops; if not grown during seasons when 
trees need all the soil food results are entirely bene- 
ficial. In floral history lichen preceded grass, grass 
prepared the ground for deeper growing plants, 



is 

Oq o - 

O *< CQ 

4 £ tD p 
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168 



FIG CULTURE 



weeds and shrubs each in turn making possible the 
formation of larger root systems further below the 
surface. The modern farmer returns to this process 
when plowing under a crop of green manure, there 
being, however, this difference: in two or three 
years he thus restores a worn out soil, while nat- 
ural processes occupied centuries of slow improve- 
ment to obtain less definite results. He does little 
more than nature accomplished, except by better 
methods. When moss decays in spring one crop is 
converted into another; and when stable manure 
is incorporated in the ground a crop is transferred 
by the process to different parts of the farm, stock 
having wasted some and utilized a small quantity 
in making animal tissue ; and in applying commer- 
cial fertilizers the fertility of other fields is simply 
concentrated in one's own. 

These crops are as useful for fig trees as for any 
other plants. Their wood is large celled and suc- 
culent, the roots making probably twenty-five times 
the quantity of ordinary fruit trees in the same 
length of time. To supply this material, soil should 
not only be well drained and renovated, but the or- 
ganic matter should be maintained copiously with 
abundant nitrogenous food. Fertility is not only 
obtained economically from green manure, but the 
land is left more friable and open for root develop- 
ment by the fining of soil particles. Roots produce 
top growth, furnish fruit, make incomes, result in 



170 



FIG CULTURE 



profits. A crop of legumes often adds as much 
nitrogen per acre as is purchasable in any other 
form for seventy-five dollars, and when thus sup- 
plied is most available for trees, changing so slowly 
into solutions that the best opportunity for assimi- 
lation is afforded. 

Cover crops are ordinarily classified as legumin- 
ous and non-leguminous. Those of the first class 
have peculiar value, as they absorb nitrogen from 
the air, depositing it in small nodules underground, 
and even when top growth is removed the stubble 
and roots enrich the soil. In actual field work it 
is often desirable to mix the seed of two or even 
more kinds in order to occupy the ground a desired 
length of time, to smother weeds and obtain special 
results that could not be done by using one only. 
The following plants are principally used for these 
purposes. 



Non-leguminous. 



Alfilaria. 

Barley. 

Broom Corn, 

Buckwheat. 

Corn. 

Emmer. 

Grasses. 

Kaffir Corn. 

Kale. 



Millet. 
Oats. 
Rape. 
Rye. 



Sorghum. 
Spelt. 
Turnips. 
Wheat. 



COVER CROPS 



171 



Legumes. 



Alfalfa. 

Beggar Weed. 
Berseem. 
Bur Clover. 
Canada Peas. 
Common Vetch. 
Cow Peas. 
Crimson Clover. 
Hairy Vetch. 



Sweet Clover. 
Tangier Peas. 
Velvet Beans. 
"White Clover. 



Japan Clover. 
Mammoth Clover. 



Peanuts. 
Red Clover. 
Soy Beans. 



Horse Beans. 

In selecting a cover crop it is necessary to bear 
in mind the peculiar qualities and habits which 
make one rather than another preferred for particu- 
lar purposes, giving due consideration to that care 
which each requires, the soil and conditions promot- 
ing growth, the length of time for maturity and 
the seasons and temperatures most suitable ; there- 
for, these characteristics of the following crops, 
applicable when used in fig orchards, are given as 
briefly as practicable : 



''Of the introduced plants (in the Southwestern 
States) alfilaria, also known as alfilerilla. filaree, pin 
clover, is so well adapted to the prevailing climatic 
conditions and has proved itself of such great value 



ALFILARIA. 



172 



FIG CULTURE 



as a range plant, that it is considered as ranking 
first in merit." (U. S. Bull., 267.) 

It grows from November until June, slowly form- 
ing a rosette in winter, stands frosts, and has a 
strong tap root which acts well upon the soil. The 
main objections are slowness of development, the 
top not forming until spring allows the orchard to 
become weedy. 

BARLEY. 

Among more than fifty varieties most of them 
are frost-resisting. It withstands any weather 
where figs will grow, chokes weeds, prevents leach- 
ing and washing, and improves soil texture. If 
planted early in the fall considerable stalk can be 
turned under in March, but large quantities of 
green matter tends to sour the soil, for which reas- 
on it should be in milk before using. 

BROOM CORN. 

This plant can be well used for a fall cover crop, 
as it makes a rank growth, producing much coarse 
top that can be plowed under to advantage, and ef- 
fectively kills all weeds. 

BUCKWHEAT. 

Of the three varieties in the United States all re- 
quire a cool climate. Buckwheat withstands light 
frosts, but seldom survives ordinary winter weather 



COVER CROPS 



173 



as far north as New Orleans. A crop matures with 
difficulty, the flowers being killed by either a frost 
or a warm wave. "Buckwheat will mature in a 
shorter period than any other grain crop, eight or 
ten weeks being sufficient under favorable condi- 
tions, it is thus well adapted to high altitudes and 
short seasons. ' ' It leaves the ground in a peculiarly 
well pulverized condition, and the large tap roots 
go into the subsoil. (Corn. Bull., 238.) 

CORN. 

Sown broadcast corn makes a dense ground cov- 
ering, and although it consumes more fertility and 
moisture than any other grain, the after effects are 
beneficial when plowed under. Its habits are well 
understood. 

EMMER. 

Emmer resembles wheat in habits, appearance 
and grain. Its capacity to thrive on poor soils and 
the shortness of the growing period commend it as 
a superior cereal. Varieties now being produced 
will undoubtedly survive winter weather as far 
north as Wisconsin. It will "make a good crop 
with almost any condition of soil or climate." (U. 
S. Bull., 139.) 

GRASSES. 

A number of horticulturists have devoted many 
years to the study of orchard grasses for cover 
crops and mulching. Some of their work is de- 



174 



FIG CULTURE 



scribed in bulletins, the record of fruit yields and 
tree growth arguing that a new chapter is thus 
opening which will increase production and greatly 
reduce .field work, as discussed elsewhere. Among 
them are Red Top, Timothy, Brome, Bermuda, Teo- 
sinte, Guinea, Mexican Clover, Orchard Grass, Fes- 
cue, Oat Grass and Kentucky Blue Grass. 

These "protect the surface of the ground from 
the scorching sun in summer and from washing 
rains in winter, and add to the fertility of the soil 
by providing humus. " (U. S. Bull., 300. ) 

KAFFIR CORN. 

These plants shade the ground well, crowding 
out weeds, providing large quantities of organic 
matter and fining the soil. "The Kaffir Corns are 
non-saccharine varieties of sorghum." (N. J. Bull., 
158.) 

KALE. 

"Thousand-headed kale has been grown in the 
Willamette Valley for twenty-seven years, is now 
rapidly becoming a very popular fall and winter 
soiling crop. It stands the mild winters west of the 
Cascade Mountains admirably." (Ore. Bull., 91.) 

MILLET. 



A hardy, rapid growing plant adapted to a wider 
range of soil and climate than peas or oats; useful 
for renovation. "An excellent thing to grow on 




A Cover Crop of Oats and Vetch. 



176 



FIG CULTURE 



foul land to get rid of weeds, giving pratically the 
same results as summer fallowing, or summer cul- 
tivation." (U. S. Bull, 101.) 

OATS. 

Useful as a cover crop to add humus smother 
weeds, prevent leaching and to fine the soil. It 
withstands frosts and light freezes if not "in the 
boot," and will recuperate when injured. The 
period of growth is too long for winter use. 

RAPE. 

Rape resembles a turnip, or ruta-baga. Its ac- 
tion on the soil is similar to that of buckwheat, and 
withstands the Southern winters. It draws mois- 
ture and fertility almost as heavily as corn, but 
improves sod ground rapidly, and will grow upon 
swampy lands. "Rape seed is mostly imported, 
but can be grown in the Middle South and certain 
localities along the Pacific Coast." (U. S. Bull. 
164.) 

RYE. 

This plant is quite delicate when young, but 
grows all winter in the South. If sown early in the 
fall ripens in time for spring plowing, but slow 
growth permits the ground to become weedy. It 
does well on a greater variety of soils than any oth- 
er of the common grains, and is a favorite for the 
renovation of worn out lands. 



COVER CROPS 



177 



SORGHUM. 

Sorghum draws greatly upon the soil. It chokes 
noxious weeds, shades the land, and produces abund- 
ant humus making substance. "It resists drought 
better than any other succulent forage crop." (Neb. 
Bull., 84.) It is immune to nematodes and wilt or 
root-rot, for which reason in several seasons will 
starve the eelworms, and fungi, if other vegetation 
is subdued. 

SPELT. 

An importation from Russia, having habits simi- 
lar to emmer and wheat. It grows well on thin 
soils and at least one variety resists the coldest 
weather of this country. It resembles wheat and 
is useful in arid regions. " Their ability to resist 
drought is remarkable, in spite of the fact that they 
are mostly spring varieties." (U. S. Cir. P. L, 12.) 

TURNIPS. 

This vegetable withstands winters in the South, 
adds large quantities of moisture and humus to 
the soil and protects from leaching. 

WHEAT. 

More than thirty varieties are frost resistant; 
they all improve tilth, prevent leaching and smoth- 
er weeds. 



178 



PIG CULTURE 



ALFALFA. 

Probably the most important of legumes, but not 
adapted for orchard work. Its initial growth is 
very slow and delicate, not competing with weeds, 
and when established consumes large quantities of 
moisture at seasons needed most by trees. 

BEGGAR WEED. 

This "West Indian legume makes a rank growth 
and can be successfully used as far north as Ne- 
braska. (Neb. Bull., 84.) "Not only does it gather 
nitrogen from the air and enrich the soil with it, 
but, by means of its long roots it penetrates soils 
to considerable depths in search of food and brings 
it nearer the surface. It cannot be too highly com- 
mended as a renovating agent on worn out, sandy 
soils." (Fla. Bull., 43.) 

BERSEEM. 

Berseem has habits about like red clover. The 
slowness of development precludes use on weedy 
lands. It stands frost well, materially improves 
the texture of the ground and can be used with ad- 
vantage as a winter cereal. 

BUR CLOVER. 

This annual is of the highest value as a winter 
cover crop. Aside from slow growth, the habit of 
all clovers, it ranks among the best ; 23 deg. F. does 




Top Growth of a Frost Resisting Variety of Field or Canada Peas. 



180 



FIG CULTURE 



not injure it, and the long creeping vines, with 
roots at every joint, grow at least four feet in good 
soil, making a dense covering. It develops slower 
in warm weather than at winter temperatures, and 
is especially useful in high altitudes. ' ' This plant 
is gradually taking the commons and roadsides at 
many places in Texas, growing on all grades of 
land from the poor sands to the stiff, black, waxy 
lands." (Tex. Bull., 108.) 

CANADA PEAS. 

In our introduction we have given several opin- 
ions about field peas. As crops mature in three 
months of mild weather, resisting 23 deg. P., and 
growing well on as great a variety of soil as oats, it 
is peculiarly adapted for winter cover cropping of 
fig orchards. It deposits nitrogen about like cow 
peas, rotting readily when turned under. There is 
difficulty in maturing seed as the flowers fall when 
frosted. In Southeast Texas during the winter of 
1909 the Golden Vine was killed to the ground 
twice, but later sprouts matured a good crop. 

COMMON VETCH. 

Oregon, or Common, Vetch grows slowly, but con- 
tinues through the winter unless the temperature 
falls below 28 deg. F. It will withstand much cold- 
er weather without being destroyed. Where sown 
upon ground that is not weedy, or wfth a winter 



Cow Peas and Kaffir Corn, mixed. 



182 



FIG CULTURE 



cereal, is very beneficial. Planted in September it 
is in fair condition to plow under in March. 

cow peas. 

Cow peas are the standard cover crops in the fig 
districts of this country, during warm seasons. 
Among more than thirty varieties the Iron should 
be used, being immune to nematodes and root-rot. 
Some varieties tend to climb trees, while others 
bunch, or bush. Their action upon the soil is so 
well known and so fully described in the rural pa- 
pers as to require no discussion. 

CRIMSON CLOVER. 

"An excellent annual for the Middle South, but 
not hardy in Nebraska." (Neb. Bull., 84.) "There 
were planted side by side on August 1, 1906, three 
plats of clover, one of crimson, one of common red 
and one of mammoth. The soils were gravelly and 
porous. The crimson clover made far more rapid 
growth in the fall than did the others. All clovers 
wintered well, but in the spring the freezing and 
thawing killed nearly all of the crimson clover. It 
had, however, served its purpose as a cover crop." 
It deposited more nitrogen in the soil than any oth- 
er variety tried. (Corn. Bull., 135.) 




Clover was planted in these two jars at the same time. The 
difference in growth is due to soil having been innoculated with 
nitrogen-gathering bacteria in the right-hand jar. 



184 



FIG CULTURE 



HAIRY VETCH. 

"This legume was found to be resistant to cold, 
heat and drought ; occupied the ground during the 
fall, winter and spring; decayed rapidly when 
turned under; and enriched the soil by its ability 
to 'fix' or utilize atmospheric nitrogen when prop- 
erly innoculated — that is, when the bacteria were 
present to cause the formation of root nodules." 
(U. S. Cir. P. I., 15.) Although requiring about 
six months to attain heavy growth, it has great 
value for winter use, withstanding lower tem- 
peratures than common vetch, but maturing more 
slowly. Most fruit growers prefer the other variety 
where the prevailing winter weather is not below 
20 deg. F. 

HORSE BEANS. 

Although this is a staple forage plant in Europe, 
called there a common field bean, very little trial 
has been made in the United States, but successful 
experiments suggest its further use. 

JAPAN CLOVER. 

"It makes a better growth than any other plant 
on poor, barren clay soils. It quickly takes pos- 
session of uncultivated fields and holds them from 
washing and protects them from the hot sun. " (Ark. 
Bull., 36.) Japan clover is better known as Lespe- 
deza. 



COVER CROPS 



185 



MAMMOTH CLOVER. 

Although this legume stands low temperatures 
with less success than several other varieties, the 
enormous growth of coarse humus making material 
is valuable, and the roots thoroughly pulverize the 
soil. 

PEANUTS. 

This legume is almost as useful as an orchard 
cover crop as it is valuable for direct profit. Of the 
many varieties the Spanish is adapted to a wider 
range of soil and conditions than any other. 1 ' This 
variety has been observed to make a good growth 
and give profitable returns wherever the cow pea 
can be grown with success.' 9 (U. S. Bull., 227.) 

RED CLOVER. 

1 ' The renovating character of a crop of red clover 
is well known, and even when only the stubble and 
roots are the source of the additions made to the 
soil the improvement which follows is very marked. ' 9 
(Penn. Bull., 102.) It is destroyed by hot weather 
and requires about six or seven months to make 
a valuable top growth. 

SOY BEANS. 

"This plant resembles the cow pea in many of 
its characteristics, namely, that it should not be 
seeded until the soil is warm." (Penn. Bull., 102.) 



Soy beans are preferred to cow peas for cover cropping by an 
increasing number of farmers. The cut shows a field ready to be 
plowed under, the vines being ripe enough to avoid souring the 
soil and sufficiently mature to add many tons of organic matter. 
Actual cost $6.00 per acre plowed under. 



COVER CROPS 



187 



" It is destined to become a very important agricul- 
tural product in many sections of the United States, 
both, as a grain and forage crop." (U. S. Bull., 
289.) "Its great value as a crop has been clearly 
demonstrated." (U. S. Bull., 58.) "Soy beans 
are preferred to cow peas by an increasing number 
of farmers in the South." (U. S. Bull, 278.) 

SWEET CLOVER. 

' ' Owing to the ability of sweet clover to grow in 
the poorest of soils, it will probably be found of 
high value in increasing their fertility. The seed 
should be planted very early in the spring." (U. 
S. Bull.. 278.) It is a biennial. 

TANGIER PEAS. 

This beautiful plant is rapidly increasing in 
favor as a cover crop among the citrus fruit orch- 
ards of the Pacific Coast. It is of rapid growth, 
choking weeds effectively, and makes a large yield 
of stalk, which decays easily, while the amount of 
nitrogen left in the ground indicates a high fertiliz- 
ing value. 

VELVET BEANS. 

This legume is in some respects the most valuable 
of cover crops. Aside from a viny habit which ren- 
ders it difficult to plow under, it compares favor- 
ably with the best varieties of cow peas, even ex- 
ceeding them in deposits of nitrogen. 



188 



FIG CULTURE 



WHITE CLOVER. 

An important forage crop which is very hardy, 
and especially useful upon poor soils liable to 
wash. Its growth is usually volunteer and con- 
tinues until drought. While probably the first le- 
gume to maintain itself upon barren soils the tops 
are too small to subdue weeds. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



DISEASES OF FIG TREES AND INJURIOUS 
INSECTS. 

We will not attempt to account for all the dis- 
eases and injurious insects which infest fig trees 
and fruit. Saccardo describes fifty-three fungi 
which attack the leaves, fruit and roots upon the 
European continent alone. Eisen adds a fifty- 
fourth : " In France the fig plantations suffer great- 
ly from the attacks of a root fungus of the genus 
Rhizoctonia. The roots alone are affected, and 
are destroyed in a very short time." There is no 
record of these having appeared in the United 
States, and as abstract scientific treatises fully de- 
scribe them we will discuss others which are trouble- 
some in this country. 

ROOT-ROT. 

(Ozonium Auricomum.) 

According to the reports of the Department of 
Agriculture at Washington, and the experiment 
station of Texas, the root-rot has attacked fig trees 
in the southeastern part of the State; and several 
nurserymen near the center of Texas describe a 
disease among their stock which strongly indicates 
its presence. It is a fungus growth interfering 
with sap circulation in the roots, and, spreading 
very rapidly, causes trees to quickly wither and 



190 



FIG CULTURE 



die. The fungus is well understood by those farm- 
ers with whom the Department of Agriculture has 
been working to eradicate it from cotton fields dur- 
ing the past fifteen years. Comparatively few 
plants are immune ; its ravages are seen among the 
ornamental trees and shrubs of the Capitol grounds 
at Austin, and the park at College, as well as at 
many other places, even primeval forests being in 
danger, as virgin soils contain the noxious germs. 
In general farming it is subdued by growing sor- 
ghum, or some other resistant crop in a rotation, as 
most of the germs are starved when provided with 
no acceptable food. The Department of Agricul- 
ture has not become committed to any particular 
treatment, though giving valuable suggestions, but 
several liquids evaporate beneath the surface of 
the soil, producing a gas deadly to animal and vege- 
table life, and these can be used satisfactorily, hold- 
ing the disease in check. There are a number of 
compounds of carbon and hydrogen, any one of 
which may be introduced to an affected soil by bury- 
ing saturated substances, dripping liquid in front 
of a falling plow furrow, pouring into a fissue made 
with a spade, or by emptying a measured quantity 
at the bottom of a hole made with a hollow crowbar, 
and if applied with sufficient care to avoid direct 
contact with roots the permeating gas destroys un- 
derground insects and fungus life for a consid- 
erable distance around. If too much is used close 



FUNGI AND PARASITES 



191 



to a tree it will prove fatal, about an ounce at a 
place on three sides of the crown, in two applica- 
tions ten days apart being efficacious. These solu- 
tions sell wholesale from ten cents to one dollar a 
gallon. 

NEMATODES. 

(Heterodera Radicola.) 

The nematode is a microscopic, parasitic eelworm. 
It is generally found where the ground does not 
freeze deep, working upon the roots of many vege- 
tables, cotton, grains, ornamental, orchard and 
forest trees, the soft, porous roots of figs affording 
excellent food. In sandy soil it sometimes goes 
down eight or ten inches, but in heavy loams four 
inches is the ordinary limit. Root enlargements 
usually first indicate its presence, these sometimes 
being mistaken for nodules on legumes, and are 
often so uniform in size and so regular in dis- 
tances apart as to remind one of beads threaded on 
strings; but occasionally a single swelling becomes 
six inches in diameter. 

The injury is done by interfering with the flow 
of sap — the circulatory life fluid of the tree. The 
cellular fibrous system becoming infested its con- 
tinuity is destroyed and roots swell at points of in- 
festation in vain efforts to provide adequate cells 
for normal circulation. 

Numerous experiments have been made for the 
purpose of discovering means for controlling this 



192 



FIG CULTURE 



parasite. The difficulty of treatment arises from 
the fact that being imbedded in the tissues of roots 
an application that will reach them comes in con- 
tact with fiber which it injured; and vapors and 
solutions which kill the insects have proven equally 
destructive to the host plants. 

The work of this worm is described by Price and 
White as follows : ' ' The fig seems to be especially 
susceptible to this injury in the moist soils of the 
coast country, where the damage is frequently con- 
siderable. * * * Over fifty species of plants 
have been known to be infested by this pest. 9 ' 

"It is not well to allow soil to remain in the 
greenhouse longer than a single season. It becomes 
somewhat exhausted and is likely to become infested 
with injurious forms of life, particularly nema- 
todes, which cause root-rot. Most garden crops are 
attacked by this disease. Nematodes are not trouble- 
some in the field except in the South." (U. S., 
Bull., 220.) 

Tobacco dust, unleached ashes and lime tend to 
keep them in check. In Arizona the experiment 
station has used copperas water with varied results. 
Any solutions evaporating in the soil and leaving 
a heavy deadly vapor will kill them ; but those now 
in use are equally fatal to trees. Nematodes work 
in damp places much faster than elsewhere, hence 
drainage assists in controlling their depredations. 

The simple treatment is suggested of tilling the 



RUST 



193 



ground deep before planting or while the trees are 
young, so roots will develop far below the surface, 
the shallow feeders then being pruned in winter. 
Such pruning will stimulate deeper growth, and 
when done during warm spells of weather assists in 
keeping the tops dormant. An experienced fruit 
grower can trim the surface feeders around the 
crown with a sharp, narrow hatchet, without re- 
moving any soil, the blade communicating through 
the handle just what is going on below, and after 
learning the habits of these trees he can proceed 
very rapidly without danger of injury. 

LEAF RUST. 

(Uredo fici.) 

This trouble has not assumed serious conditions 
until recently. It appears in round brownish dots 
on the foliage, closing the breathing pores and re- 
sulting in premature dropping of leaves. It is 
usually dormant until after the fruiting season, but 
the tendency now is to find it earlier in the summer. 
Growers are practically agreed that 5-5 Bordeaux 
mixture is an inexpensive and efficient treatment, 
not only holding the trouble in check, but eradicat- 
ing it in two or three seasons. A glance at leaf 
structure will show how rust injures the plant. The 
accompanying cut is diagramatic only to illustrate 
the stomata, or breathing pores of leaves under a 
magnifying glass, and the cells which wither and 



194 



FIG CULTURE 




A Leaf Surface (magnified) showing stomata and cells. 



INSECTS 



195 



close up when blighted with rust. Carbon and oxy- 
gen compose eighty-seven per cent of plant food, 
and these chemicals being absorbed mainly from 
the air through leaves their loss results in the rapid 
decline of the tree. 

scale. 
(Chermes caricse.) 

A large scale, about one-third of an inch long by 
nearly that width, has attacked fig trees east of the 
Mississippi River, injuring the foliage and result- 
ing in dwarfed growth and stunted trees. It is 
easily distinguished by an oval shape and ash 
brown color. In May the young become active and 
spread over leaves and branches, where they work 
until late in August, then going dormant again. 
The lime sulphur wash has been applied with suc- 
cess. 

FIG BORER. 

(Ptychodes trivittatus.) 

This insect is flat headed, about one and a third 
inches long, light brown with white stripes, one on 
each side of the body and one down its back, with 
wings, two long antennas, a flesh colored mouth and 
six legs. It has the power to penetrate live bark 
with its horny mandibles, but rarely attacks a 
healthy, vigorous tree. Stunted or frosted ones 
are chosen and the beetle greatly hastens their de- 
struction. Affected limbs should be pruned off, 



196 



FIG CULTURE 



and if found in time the pests should be dug out 
with a knife or killed by injecting some deadly 
liquid into their holes. Numerous solutions are on 
the market from which one can be selected to ex- 
terminate them. "Fig growing in Louisiana would 
be a grand success were it not for the fig borer, 
which frequently destroys the trees." (La. Bull., 
42.) Later bulletins from the same station deny 
the seriousness of this pest. 

BEETLES. 

Coleopterous insects puncture the skin and flesh 
of all figs, and while the commercial varieties are 
not ruined by them the fruit is impaired in ap- 
pearance by the brown and white spots which re- 
sult ; many pickers calling such figs "pock marked. " 
So rapidly do the bugs multiply that it is difficult 
to find unaffected fruit in any orchard late in the 
season. They suck an inconsequential amount of 
juice, which is diluted with a liquid first deposited 
near the skin, but it is impossible to make such figs 
into the best preserves without peeling them. As 
the beetles insert their proboses some distance be- 
fore beginning to withdraw juice they cannot be 
caught with arsenical powders, or by spraying, and 
treatment necessarily consists in collecting the pests 
by bait, with a light at night, or in moss thrown on 
the ground, and killing them by hand. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



INJURIES TO TREES AND FRUIT. 

FROST. 

The best way to ameliorate frosting is to plant 
fig trees in heavy soil, clay loam being preferable. 
The first two or three years growth is not nearly so 
vigorous as in sandy loam, and clay lands require 
much more labor to bring them to an initial condi- 
tion of tilth, but it pays. Every few days of warm 
winter weather the sap starts growing in trees on 
light ground, thus inviting disaster. It is not the 
warming of roots in periods of sunshine so much as 
the rapid rise of temperature of surface air around 
the tops, the result of radiation and reflection, 
starch stored in wood cells becoming active from 
heat and moving toward buds. "Fig trees are 
easily frosted, especially when caught by the frost 
with their sap in full circulation," said Eisen. On 
the other hand, their resistant power is evident, for 
even in the latitude of Washington and Paris, where 
zero weather occurs, continuous cold is not injuri- 
ous. They are frosted oftener around New Orleans 
than in the vicinity of Memphis. The fitful South- 
ern winters usually have periods of cool weather 
preceded by bright, warm sunshine for several days, 
sometimes for two weeks. If the orchard is in 
sandy ground no amount of root manipulation, or 



198 



FIG CULTURE 



top treatment, can keep the trees dormant, and 
when sap is active a freeze is always disastrous. 
Some root prune to prevent tops from starting 
until spring. Such treatment, when done for that 
object alone, is open to serious objections, the vi- 
tality of the whole tree being thus weakened, and 
it is not an approved method of retarding initial 
top growth. Eoot pruning should be adopted as a 
last expedient, being questionable even then. 

It is demonstrable by field experiments that the 
first sap movement of spring comes from vitality 
stored in limbs rather than the activity of roots. 
Botany teaches us: " The cause of the flow of sap 
appears to be the attraction of it by the leaves. 
The consequence of this is, that sap always be- 
gins to flow at the ends of branches." When buds 
open during winter it is usually from sap flowing 
in the limbs ; thus in a fig cutting leaves are formed 
that vary in size with the quantity of wood, which 
unfold in advance of the formation of rootlets. Pro- 
tect a forest log from drying during winter and 
branchlets will sprout so soon as the enveloping 
air warms to a temperature congenial for its 
growth, and though there are no roots, the leaves 
continue to flourish until all vitality in the wood is 
exhausted. Place a tent, or build a shed, over part 
of a fig tree, or, simpler still, draw some branches 
through a convenient window into a living room in 
winter time, the warmer interior air promoting 
growth until full sized leaves are developed, while 



FROST 



199 



exposed parts continue dormant. Sap moves in 
roots last, and great caution should always be used 
in pruning them. 

Many years ago Lindley said: "When a plant 
is frozen the following effects are produced: 1st. 
the fluids contained within the cells of tissue are 
congealed and consequently expanded. 2d. Such ex- 
pansion produces to some extent a laceration of 
the sides of the cells and impairs excitability by the 
unnatural extension to which the sides of the cells, 
if not lacerated, are subjected. 3d. It expells air 
from the aeriferous cavities. 4th. It also intro- 
duces air, either expelled from the air passages, or 
disengaged by the glacial decomposition of water 
into parts naturally intended to contain fluid. 5th. 
The green coloring matter, and other secretions, 
are decomposed. 6th. The vital fluid, or latex, is 
destroyed, and the action of its vessels paralyzed. 
7th. The interior of the tubes, in which fluid is 
conveyed, is obstructed by a thickening of their 
sides." In a word, the cellular system is broken 
up, the protoplasm is freed and the lifeless branches 
rapidly lose their sap by evaporation. 

In dry weather a fig tree will sometimes show in- 
jury at a temperature about two degrees above 
freezing, its tender branches being as succulent as 
tomato vines. This unusual sensitiveness, largely 
from the rapid evaporation which takes place 
through leaves and stems, is a factor in reducing 



200 



FIG CULTURE 



temperature, the process of forming vapor extract- 
ing heat from new growth and contributing to its 
own destruction. 

The frosting of a fig tree can be easily ascertained 
by examining either the wood or the bark. Frost 
darkens the cambium layer and it slips on the inner 
tissue. If wood is frozen brownish-red fiber can be 
seen, or it may be darkened all the way through. 
The only treatment is to prune back until affected 
parts are removed and milky sap exudes freely from 
each cut as made. If frozen to the ground most 
sprouts that come up in spring should be allowed 
to grow the first year and the following winter de- 
sirable ones may be saved. If the entire top is lost 
two successive winters there is little hope for 
healthy subsequent growth. 

Many orchardists believe frozen sap is poisonous, 
and that unless promptly removed it will kill the 
whole tree. If true the fig is an exception among 
all perennial plants. Throughout the coastal re- 
gion we can observe " china berry" trees that were 
in leaf at branch terminals when the February 
freeze occurred in 1909. Leaves that were frosted 
still hang to the limbs, and the extent of injured 
wood can be traced by its dark color about six 
inches back from the terminals, while from each bud 
brown fiber extends deep into the wood; yet, all 
the trees leafed out, so well as to entirely conceal 
the loss without pruning, there being no suspicion 



FROST 



201 



of toxic influences. Freezing breaks up the bark 
and wood cells, allowing it to dry very rapidly, 
probably before sap could move in a natural cur- 
rent. The human race is continually eating tons 
and tons of frozen fruit with impunity; every 
perennial plant from the grass in our yards to the 
largest forest trees habitually survive frosting; 
apricots, peaches, pears, plums, in fact all well 
known orchard trees are pruned in such cases, not 
to remove poisonous branches, but unsightly wood ; 
and who has not seen healthy oranges and lemons 
sprout right up through dead, frozen tops? 

The great susceptibility of fig trees to be injured 
in the South, the fact that they often show more 
resistance to cold at one time than at another, dif- 
ferent parts of the same tree not being affected uni- 
formly, indicate various results at one place that 
do not occur at another, as explained by Candolle's 
laws of temperature formulated many years ago : 

1. All other things being equal, the power of 
each plant, and of each part of a plant, to resist 
extremes of temperatures, is in the inverse ratio of 
the quantity of water they contain. 

2. The powder of plants to resist extremes of 
temperature is directly in proportion to the viscid- 
ity of their fluids. 

3. The power of plants to resist cold is in the 
inverse ratio of the rapidity with which their fluids 
circulate. 



202 



FIG CULTURE 



4. The liability to freeze of the fluids contained 
in plants is greater in proportion to the size of 
their cells. 

5. The power of plants to resist extremes of 
temperature is in a direct proportion to the quantity 
of confined air which the structure of their organs 
gives them the means of retaining in their more 
delicate parts. 

6. The power of plants to resist extremes of tem- 
perature is in direct proportion to the capability 
which the roots possess of absorbing sap less ex- 
posed to the external influence of the atmosphere 
and the sun. 

Under the subject of wind-breaks an illustration 
is given of a freeze which occurred in 1909, affect- 
ing dissimilarly several orchards in the same local- 
ity, being accounted for by the different composi- 
tion of soils. When we consider how well air cir- 
culates through the entire fibrous tissue and how 
quickly the temperature of even heartwood is thus 
changed, the roots imbedded in clay responding 
more slowly to atmospheric influences than exposed 
parts, light porous soil and warm weather easily 
account for top growth at any time the winter be- 
comes mild. When even the oak is so injured by a 
late freeze that new bark is "hide-bound," interfer- 
ing with growth to the extent of rendering the tree 
unable to mature a crop of acorns, it is little wonder 
that frost does so great damage to the soft, coarse 
fibred fig wood. 



FROST 



203 



In a North Carolina bulletin Massey describes 
methods for protection from winter weather : "On 
the coast, in the immediate vicinity of salt water, it 
will need no winter protection. But in the cold 
western part of the State the method I have found 
successful in Maryland will do equally well. This 
is to branch the trees from the ground, and in fall, 
after the frost has cut the leaves, bend down the 
branches to the ground and pin them fast, and then 
pile the earth over them, mounding it over the 
center and sloping to the outside so as to throw off 
the water, or gather the limbs like a cross on the 
ground and cover each bunch separately with a 
higher mound in the center, like a four pointed 
star. They will keep perfectly in cold climates in 
this way. " In milder sections "the best way pos- 
sible, though very tedious and troublesome, is to 
thatch each limb and the stem thickly with broom 
sedge, wrapped on with cotton twine. This is the 
best protection I have ever tried. But the bending 
down and covering with pine boughs usually an- 
swers very well." 

SUXBURN. 

It is important to prevent sunburn, as fig borers 
find ready entrance when bark is removed, greatly 
hastening decay even to the pith of the branches. 
Whether this injury occurs in summer or winter it 
can be prevented by protecting trunks from direct 
rays of the sun. 



204 



FIG CULTURE 



It is easy to mistake the causes of sunburn result- 
ing usually from exposure of frosted trees to direct 
sunlight early in mornings before time has been had 
for thawing slowly. The rapid shrinking and swell- 
ing from alternate frosts and mild temperatures 
causes the fiber to be injured, and its checked char- 
acter appears later in the season. 

Occasionally it results from hot sunlight during 
dry weather, not. however, in humid localities, but 
only in arid climates, the Southern country near the 
coast being free from this disease. Numerous satis- 
factory protectors are for sale by nurserymen and 
plant distributers, but common newspaper tied 
around exposed bark with woolen yarn is entirely 
efficient. 

FALLING OF FRUIT. 

Aside from Smyrna and Calimyrna varieties, 
which drop their fruit green unless caprificated. the 
principal causes of losing the crop in this way is 
excessive dryness, cold weather and lack of tillage. 
Under exceptional conditions a fig tree can be culti- 
vated until its fruitfulness is impaired: but there 
is small danger of such unusual care, unless for ex- 
perimental purposes. Dryness of soil is often the 
result of insufficient tillage, for by maintaining a 
good earth mulch on land that has been plowed deep 
it usually stores ample moisture to provide trees 
during ordinary drouths, if they are not too ciose 
together in rows. Few orehardists seem to realize 



INJURIES TO FRUIT 



205 



the demand for plant food and moisture, and how 
rapidly roots extend, or trees would be given more 
ground. To maintain a sufficient depth of soil is a 
task requiring the greatest attention, for trees grad- 
ually interlace their roots until the inevitable time 
comes when all soil is occupied, the task of furnish- 
ing fertility increasing as they develop. 

WORMS. 

"Worms in dried figs are hatched from eggs laid 
after the fruit is cured. This may be avoided by 
excluding the small moths which deposit them, or 
dipping the fruit in hot water, or lightly sulphuring 
in a closed box. or room. Sweet bay leaves scattered 
through the fruit will prevent infestations. 

A number of insects, including vinegar flies, lay 
eggs in fresh fruit, whenever an opening is found. 
These soon hatch, for which, of course, there is no 
remedy other than care in picking. 

SOURIXG OF FRUIT. 

The fig sours more readily than any other fruit. 
Of varieties grown in this country the Xew French 
is the best keeper, by reason of its closed eye. fer- 
mentation fungus not finding entrance to the deli- 
cate juice cells until the skin is broken. Those de- 
ficient in sugar sour most readily, and the same va- 
riety has a greater tendency to spoil when grown 
on wet land than where the earth is warm and mel- 



206 FIG CULTURE 

low. A deficiency of fertility promotes loss even to 
the extent of fermentation forming around the eye 
several days before the neck is ripe. Smyrna and 
Calimyrna figs seldom sour, being unusually sweet 
and grown in arid climates. The Celeste is freer 
of this objection than others in the Southern States. 
The Magnolia, or Brunswick, is a fair keeper, being 
of average sweetness, and it is usually picked just 
before juice exudes while firm enough to be readily 
handled. When deficient in sugar acetic bacteria 
swarm through the eye and quickly set up an acid 
fermentation, even in green fruit. As an illustra- 
tion a very remunerative fig orchard rapidly dete- 
riorated in the quality of fruit during years it 
should have been at the height of productiveness as 
the soil gradually became deficient in texture and 
humus, until at length it was impossible to find any 
that ripened at the neck before the lower half rotted 
and became offensive; the swarms of vinegar flies 
indicating the form of fermentation. The Adriatic 
fig of California is especially liable to. sour when 
grown near the coast, but, like all others, an open 
eye, or bursted skin, always precedes the entrance of 
either fungi or bacteria. While extremely wet 
ground increases the liability of fermentation, that 
too dry is equally objectionable. The orchard just 
referred to, as an illustration, was so out of condi- 
tion as to have no water storage capacity, the earth 
cracking open a few days after each rain, and fruit 
was not only deficient in sugar, but so lacking in 



FERMENTATION OF FRUIT 



207 



juice as to be misshapen, and the eyes opened be- 
fore maturity, as a result of tilling for several years 
with nothing but a disk, keeping all weeds down, but 
adding no humus. When trees are furnished a com- 
fortable home for their roots normal quantities of 
good fruit naturally follow. 



Juicy Fig, suitable for eating while fresh : hence a 
dooryard variety. It quickly cooks to pieces. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



HARVESTING THE CROP. 

For home use figs should not be picked until quite 
ripe, when the flesh has become filled with juice. 
They are then very palatable, and sweeter than be- 
fore softening. For canning, or sale in local mar- 
kets, it is necessary to gather two or three days 
earlier, as they bring better prices when green 
enough to retain a natural shape in cooking; but 
they should be left on the trees as long as possible 
consistent with the uses intended. 

In the South commercial varieties increase in 
weight about fifteen per cent, daily during the pe- 
riod of ripening, this addition coming from the con- 
centration of natural syrup in the fruit. The 
amount of sugar required in preserving is also ma- 
terially reduced when ripened before being gath- 
ered. 

In the warmest weather figs should be picked 
every day. and not less than every other day during 
summer months. In October, when cool nights check 
growth, several days may intervene between pick- 
ings. If ripe, or when the object of the grower is 
to allow fruit to ripen so far as possible upon the 
trees, and still remain in condition to be handled, it 
should be at once placed in shallow trays, or berry 
boxes, to prevent mutilation. The gathering is 



HARVESTING THE CROP 



211 



usually done by boys at a cost of about twelve cents 
per bushel. An orchard five years of age should 
yield about three bushels per acre every day during 
summer. Fruit should not be dumped into bushel 
measures, but weighed in shallow trays when neces- 
sary to estimate the quantity. Picking should be 
done by carefully raising the fruit up from its pend- 
ant position on branches, the stems easily snapping 
in two ; pulling it off causes unnecessary bruising. 
If a picker works more than an hour or two a day 
he should wear loose cloth gloves for the "fuzz'' 
on leaves and stems, and upon green fruit, is very 
irritating to the skin, and as the milky juice contin- 
ually drops it spreads while at work, causing sensa- 
tions resembling the bites of a nest of good sized 
ants. 



CHAPTER XXIY, 



CURING AND PRESERVING THE FRUIT. 

Smyrna and Calimyrna figs are dried in the open 
air and packed artistically according to the taste of 
individual distributers. The Adriatic is sometimes 
dried, but more often preserved and pickled. Such 
dooryard varieties as Celeste. Mission, Brown Tur- 
key and Ischia are made into marmalades, while 
the Magnolia is always preserved, its quality and 
the climates where raised not admitting of sun dry- 
ing, nor does it compete successfully with Smyrnas 
when evaporated. As a preserve it probably has no 
equal in appearance, and its quality is fair. 

The Magnolia fig is often cooked skin and all; 
sometimes it is softened by vigorous boiling a few 
minutes in plain water, but the skin is usually re- 
moved by soaking the fruit in dilute potassium hy- 
drate, boiling hot, afterwards rinsing the caustic 
solution out by repeated immersions in clear water. 
It is cooked in pure syrup made from sugar graded 
higher than granulated, the "Confectioner's A" 
and "Pebble A" brands, giving best results. This 
syrup should test by saccharometer from 28 to 32 
degrees at the boiling point when the fruit is cooked 
• lone. A saccharometer is a syrup gauge used by all 
confectioners and preservers to measure density, 
and is the only satisfactory instrument by which 



COOKING FIGS 



213 



uniform syrups can be made throughout a season, 
sugar rapidly increasing the density of water, 
which shows at once upon the saccharometer. The 
fruit is usually cooked from two to three hours, 
gradually turning darker during the process as the 
syrup caramels. Deep, barrel-shaped candy kettles 
are now in common use, their steam jackets covering 
the bottoms and one-third the sides, giving ample 
exposure to heat ; yet it is believed they will give 
way to shallow kettles of greater length and breadth, 
jacketed for steam on the bottom only, and with 
light wire covers the fruit cannot only be immersed 
during the entire process, but the time of cooking 
can be materially shortened, thus improving its ap- 
pearance. 

When reaching the desired color and condition, 
the fruit is allowed to cool and then filled into cans, 
or glass jars, sealed up and sterilized. No satisfac- 
tory method of filling by machinery has been found, 
as the fruit is mutilated unless handled carefully. 
Automatic filling not being practicable, the final 
packages are filled cold and then sterilized. So soon 
as the temperature falls below the boiling point 
spores and bacteria, floating in the atmosphere, en- 
ter the preserves, and soon cause ferments and 
moulds. Most spoilage germs are killed in fif- 
teen minutes at 212 F.. but some spores, from which 
bacteria develop, resist that temperature for three 
or four hours. The preserver should ascertain for 
himself how long heat must be applied to render his 



214 



FIG CULTURE 



goods sterile, and should make tests about once a 
week each season, different and more hardy spores 
appearing from time to time which require the pe- 
riod to be lengthened or shortened, as conditions 
change. The higher the temperature the shorter the 
time, and the longer fruit is sterilized the darker it 
becomes. 

Sterilizing the final packages is done on a small 
scale by boiling them in some such solution as salt 
brine, calcium chloride brine, or an oil bath, they 
having boiling points sufficiently high to raise the 
temperature of the sealed preserves to a deadly heat. 
One of the largest plants in the world uses oil baths 
exclusively for this purpose. In boiling care should 
be taken to avoid too great a difference in tempera- 
ture between the bath and the preserves, otherwise 
steam will generate in the packages and burst them. 
Preserves which test 31 deg. by saccharometer boil 
at about 214 degrees F., and it is not safe to use a 
sterilizing bath more than two degrees higher. 
When brine is used, the supply of salt, or calcium, 
should be steadily maintained, as considerable quan- 
tities adhere to the cans, or jars, in removing them, 
reducing the density, while evaporation from ebul- 
lition tends to its increase. 

Except on a small scale, the most satisfactory 
method of sterilizing is in a closed chamber where 
live steam is confined, escaping only under a regu- 
lated pressure. In such case the heat generated on 



STERILISATION 



215 



the inside of each jar, being no greater, except when 
cooling, than in the retort on the outside of the 
packages, there is less danger of the jars bursting. 
Retorts admit steam at the bottom, having an es- 
cape valve at the top of the opposite end. If prop- 
erly constructed, they withstand fifteen pounds to 
the square inch, representing a temperature of 250 
degrees Fahrenheit. A convenient sized retort will 
hold fifty cases, or one hundred dozen pound jars of 
preserves. 

The principal danger in sterilizing glass goods is 
from cracking, which will surely happen to a great 
many jars if a direct draft of outside air reaches 
them while hot, for they must cool very slowly. 
Even tin will burst if the retort is suddenly opened 
while at a high temperature, for the preserves con- 
tinue to develop steam inside the cans, while the 
sudden removal of pressure around them withdraws 
its resistance to that within, and their sides give 
way. 

The crop from a few acres may easily be pre- 
served with gasoline heat. The first step in such 
case is to make a frame of half -inch pipes to hold 
galvanized iron tubs about two feet above the floor. 
The tubs should be fourteen inches deep, twenty 
inches wide, and six feet long. A couple of smaller 
ones for syrup and other special uses will be conve- 
nient. For a thousand trees in full bearing six tubs 
will do very well. Under them place a double row 



216 



FIG CULTURE 



of gasoline burners ten inches apart each way, con- 
nected with a ten-gallon reservoir outside the build- 
ing by a common supply pipe. Place the reservoir 
in the shade, and have a cut-off valve in the bottom, 
keeping it well filled, every day, as when entirely 
burned out the oil in the pipes around the burners is. 
renewed with difficulty. Six tubs will cook twenty 
bushels at a time without injuring the fruit. 
Put the figs in the syrup cold, being sure they float, 
otherwise those on the bottom will burn. If they 
do not float acid more syrup. Heavy preserves do 
not require any water after the first stew of the 
season, for the juice from the fruit will not only 
sufficiently dilute that made from pure sugar, but 
all cooking should be in open kettles to get rid of 
vapor. A cover should be made for each tub, how- 
ever, constructed of one-half inch wire mesh in a 
strong frame, just small enough to fit inside the top, 
and by adding a little weight it will press the fruit 
down into the syrup to avoid stirring, and that float- 
ing on top will finish with the rest, A failure to 
observe this detail will necessitate the removal of 
about ten per cent, of the fruit for further cooking 
after the balance is done ; or it may result in unnec- 
essarily cooking all to finish that which floats; or 
the preserver may repeatedly stir the top ; or, with 
steam, he will throw what is underneath to the sur- 
face occasionally by vigorous boiling. Any of these 
expedients will add considerable labor to the one in 
charge, whose time can be spared the least, and often 
causes fruit to deteriorate in appearance. The time 



COOKING THE FRUIT 



217 



of cooking can be materially shortened by using 
shallow vessels, the syrup then being lighter colored 
and the fruit retaining a plump, rounded shape. It 
has been said that galvanized iron tubs may be used. 
This is merely a suggestion from experiments, for, 
after repeated tests with copper, cast iron, tin, and 
the most expensive enamel and porcelain ware no 
reasons are found for preferring one, rather than 
another, except their durability, weight, conveni- 
ence, cleanliness and original cost; for the fruit is 
unchanged in appearance and flavor, there being too 
little acid to affect any of these metals. 

There is a growing trade in fig preserves put up 
in large tins with light syrup. California ships 
considerable quantities to distributers in the East, 
and one plant in the South disposes of its entire out- 
put in this way. The distributers repack in fancy 
glass of their own, selling under individual brands 
which are gradually becoming established in the 
trade. As long as sugar can be purchased in Bos- 
ton and New York cheaper than in New Orleans, 
and while tins and glassware are made at factories 
close by, the cost of gallon or two gallon cans in the 
South is offset by the saving in freight on glass and 
sugar, and this trade will continue to increase. The 
Southern preservers will, however, pay freight both 
ways on sugar, glass and tinware while present high 
prices prevail, and so long as there is an active de- 
mand for the best grade of goods under their own 



218 



FIG CULTURE 



labels ; yet advantages are not only in favor of the 
Northern distributers repacking it. but the simplic- 
ity and small cost of preserving in large tins appeal 
to the average grower, and many will adopt this 
method of marketing their fruit, The grower is de- 
pendent upon local conditions when he sells to 
neighborhood factories, as well as when he manufac- 
tures finished products himself, and his prosperity 
and independence is probably just as assured by 
shipping to large distributers to use their own sugar 
and glass. When the consumers North and East 
learn to have fig preserves as a daily diet, the pres- 
ent demand will become more active, the jobbers 
and distributers will go to the orchards and local 
markets to secure their goods, and by that time 
growers will have organized and learned to co-oper- 
ate for marketing crops, their independence and 
prosperity then being assured. 



(iOV 6 1909 



H 49 1 85 '4 

I COPY. DEL. TO CAT OIV. 

MOV 8 11309 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




